Helen Tarr Coates died January 16, 2015 in Sherman Oaks where she spent her last two years since leaving her home in Altadena. She was 92. Born January 5, 1923 in Flagstaff, Arizona to Helen and Earl Tarr, she was preceded in death by her older brother, Earl, and is survived by her younger sister, Jean Tarr Fleming. She is also survived by four of her five children, Robin Jaffe of Tarzana, Robert Coates III of Santa Fe, New Mexico, Jonathan Coates also of Santa Fe, and Dana Coates of Pasadena; as well as six grandchildren and two great-grandchildren. Her son David Coates passed away in 2009. In 1943, Helen married Robert Coates, Jr and they were married for 28 years. 

Helen moved from Arizona to LaCanada as a very young child and lived surrounded by orange groves. She remembered milking the cow and having an Indian Paint horse to ride. She was considered the 'tomboy' of the family, acquiring the nickname 'Tommy' from her dad. She attended local schools including Elliot Junior High and South Pasadena High School. She attended Reed College in Oregon for one year and then attended Scripps College in Claremont.

As a young mother she was active in the Pasadena Junior League where she spearheaded development of a cookbook and helped organize a John Raitt concert at the Civic. Her children remember that she was a gifted seamstress and artistic person. She designed her own wedding dress, made almost all the clothes she and her children wore, refinished furniture and decorated their home. She often made amazing flower arrangements for their home. Later she took up dying fabric and making artistic garments and banners. She was also a reader, writer, and thinker, and was very involved with efforts to preserve the earth and humanitarian issues. She was always an elegant, beautiful woman and will be greatly missed by her family and her friends.

Pasadena-Star News, January 20, 2015