A tribute to Melvin Coats

I got the call this morning with the news that my friend and barber, Melvin Coats, passed away.

As a military guy, I get a haircut about every two weeks so I spent a lot of time in his old barber chair over the years. He had a gentle spirit and a genuine smile. He was a man of God who had a heart for broken people. He prayed for them and prayed with them.

He developed a great sense of empathy over the years and seemed to carry other’s burdens like his own at times.

He cared deeply for people. He was also a craftsman and expert at his trade. He sharpened his own clippers. Others brought their old unserviceable clippers to him to be serviced and he gladly helped them out.

Sometimes he would be dozing in the barber chair when I’d come in. His Bible in his lap where he’d been reading. There was almost always a black and white western on the little TV on his bookshelf playing Gunsmoke, Roy Rogers, or The Lone Ranger.

I remember going to see him with my Dad when I was a boy and remember going to see him with my son as he was growing up.

He cut hair for a very long time. He shared a million stories and remembered everyone’s family connections and who

Melvin Coats had the opportunity to take a photo with family and it turned into a four generations of Coats’ men in the picture. Grayson Coats, seated with father Dakota, both received their first haircuts from Melvin as did his grandfather Jeff Coats who is standing directly behind. Grayson’s great-grandfather John Coats, Sr., right, is Mr. Coats’ cousin and enjoyed many years of haircuts from Melvin.

belonged to who, often using six degrees of separation to explain who someone was because neither of us could remember their name.

He told me when he was in “the service” he made more money cutting hair on the weekend than his military paycheck. He found his calling early in life and filled it well.

Going to his barber shop was like stepping back in time. I regret that I cannot find a picture of him on my phone to post here. It just never felt like a place where one would take a “selfie” with their octogenarian barber.

His barber shop was a place you could take your young children. There were never any inappropriate stories or foul language.

It is indeed the end of an era. If you have a picture of a “first haircut” with Mr. Coats, I encourage you to post it. Please continue to be in prayer for his wife and family.

“Happy trails my friend, until we meet again.”