OBITUARY

Press, Volume LXXXIX, Issue 26998, 25 March 1953, Page 10

OBITUARY

CANON R. G. COATS (New Zealand Press Association) • AUCKLAND, March 24. Canon Robert George Coats, former vicar of St. Matthew’s Church, Auckland, and a canon of St. Mary’s Cathedral, died in the Green Lane Public Hospital today. He was 71. He resigned as vicar of St. Matthew’s in 1946 because of ill-health. Born and educated at Christchurch, Canon Coats joined the Melanesian Mission as a teacher in its training college at Norfolk Island. He served later in various stations in the New Hebrides and Solomons groups, but he had to return to New Zealand after eight years’ work because of malarial fever. From 1906 to 1908 Canon Coats was organising secretary and lecturer for the mission in New Zealand. He was ordained deacon at Napier in 1910, and held curacies at Napier Cathedral, Waroa, and Caversham, Dunedin, where he was ordained priest in 1913. His first parish was Anderson’s Bay, and from 1916 to 1919 he was vicar of Queenstown. After a period at Invercargill, Canon Coats came to Auckland in 1921 and took temporary charge at Kingsland. T* le . f °Nowing year he became vicar of the Church of the Epiphlny, Newand in 1930 he went to St. Luke’s, Mount Albert. He was appointed a can°n of the cathedral in 1937, and in 1938 he became vicar of St. Matthew’s He is survived by his wife and one

MR A. F. BOYS

(From Our Own Reporter) A/r ai* j th TIMARU, March 24. Mr Alfred Frank Boys, well known as an accountant and secretary, died in Timaru yesterday. He was 80 years of age.

Mr Boys was for some time chairman of the Timaru Main School Committee and was also at one time the chairman of the School Committees’ Association.

A son of daffies Boys, an early surveyor in the Lands and Survey Department, Mr Boys was born in Rangiora and brought to Timaru when he was six weeks old. He received his early education at the Timaru Main School and was a dux of that school.

After working in Canterbury Farmers’ Co-operative’ Association for many years, Mr Boys started out on his own account as a secretary and accountant. He served with the First New Zealand Expeditionary Force during the First World War. leaving New Zealand in the sixth reinforcements as a captain.

A' prominent athlete in his youth, Mr Boys gained many trophies for athletic events. He was also at one time a South Canterbury representative Rugby player. Mr Boys was secretary of the Druids and Oddfellows lodges for many years, and a prominent member of the South Canterbury Returned Services’ Association.

Mr Boys married Miss Mary Dow. the daughter of an early South Canterbury pioneer, in 1899. He is survived by three sons and two daughters, Messrs C. R. Boys (Nelson). F. H. Boys (Waimate), J. C. Boys (Invercargill), and Mesdames E. A. Lee and J. Hannan (Timaru). MR L. H. GODDARD (From Our Own Reporter) OAMARU, March 23. A man intimately associated with the musical life of Waitaki Boys’ High School died in Oamaru on Sunday. He was Mr Leslie Hardy Goddard, who for 13 years had been resident organist and music master at the school. He had been in ill-health for some time, but was teaching until the middle of last week. Mr Goddard was born and educated in England. He then went to Australia, and came to Waitaki from New South Wales in 1940. Since that date he was associated with Professor Galway, of Dunedin. Mr Goddard instituted weekly organ recitals when he 'came to Waitaki, and had presented more than 400 of these to the pupils. His passing is a sad loss to a school which was his greatest love. Mr Goddard had no relatives in New Zealand.