From: The Horton High School Alumni Association - September 16, 2025

Rev. Phyllis K. Coates is a native of Pittsboro NC and is the third of five children from the late Patience Taylor Knight & Lonnie M. Knight, Sr. She was a member of the final class of Horton High School in 1970. Phyllis has been a beacon of faith and service for many years.

Rev. Phyllis K. Coates has been recognized for her significant contributions and achievements throughout her career. She was the first Black woman hired by the Pittsboro Police Department, the Carrboro Police Department, Orange County Sheriff Department, and in 1982 Chatham County Sheriff’s Department; a groundbreaking set of achievements that paved the way for future generations. Her dedication to community service and law enforcement has been widely acknowledged, and she has received numerous accolades for her efforts.
Rev. Coates was the first Black woman to serve as the president of the Guilford County Schools' parent-teacher association from 1994-95.

In addition, following her career as a Law Enforcement Officer she transitioned to the position of a Administrative Hearing Judge for the 18th Judicial District of the State of North Carolina, a position she held for 17 years. She retired from state service as the highest-ranking Black magistrate in 2002 with 30 years of service.

She was not done in her service when she traded one robe for another and began her service with the church in 1997 as a minister and transitioned to full time ministry in 2002. In 1997, Rev. Coates became the first Black woman pastor at Zion Hill UMC (High Point) and rebuilt the church at Peace UMC (Summerfield).

Rev. Coates served as an Elder in Full Connection in the Western North Carolina Conference. Her pastoral journey included significant tenures at various churches, including St. Mary's United Methodist Church in Trinity and Raleigh's Crossroads United Methodist Church in Greensboro.

In her final years of active ministry, she served alongside her late husband of 45 years Rev. George Melvin Coates at Hickory Grove UMC- Charlotte. To this union they gave birth to one son Rev. Dr. George Marcell Coates (Keita) and four grandchildren: the late Nyasha, Levi, Peter, and Alana. Her leadership and spiritual guidance have left a lasting impact on the congregations she served.

Even in retirement, Rev. Coates continues to be an active presence in the church community. She is currently serving at Camp Springs in Reidsville, Garretts Grove in Gibsonville, and Jackson in Brown Summit. Her ongoing commitment to her faith and community is a testament to her enduring spirit and dedication.
Rev. Coates's life and work continue to inspire and uplift those who have the privilege of knowing her. Her story is a shining example of what it means to live a life dedicated to faith and service.
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N.C. judge swaps robes on Sundays
by Nancy H. McLaughlin, The (Greensboro) News & Record - Jan. 6, 2002, 11:01 p.m. ET

The way Phyllis Coates responds when trouble comes calling depends on which black robe she's wearing.

The one at the magistrate's office comes with a legal remedy. The one hanging on the back of the pastor's door at her church means she's likely to drop to her knees. Yet Coates, a magistrate for 17 years and a pastor for six months, actually finds more similarities than differences in her work as a judge and preacher.

''Either way, you are giving a message to people in a way that they understand -- the right way of life and helping them get through it -- except with one you have the possibility of going to jail,'' she says. She pauses and laughs. ''And the other you have the possibility of going to hell.

They both have their consequences.'' Coates plans to leave her job in February presiding over civil court and issuing warrants over criminal matters to dig into the ministry and community outreach full-time.
She says she has felt a calling to the ministry for a long time. Battling sickness over the last few years gave her time to really think about her future. ''I wasn't running away from God,'' says Coates, who has a Bible next to a book of North Carolina statutes within reach. ''Still, I wouldn't slow down. I was stubborn.''

It was 1997 and Coates, who had been a police officer for 13 years before becoming a magistrate, began studying under a Baptist preacher. Then she went under the wing of a Methodist minister. By then she had lost her gall bladder, suffered through pancreatitis and dropped 56 pounds.
She decided the pace couldn't continue. Coates was asked by the United Methodist Church to take over as pastor at two of its parishes -- New Zion in High Point and Peace United Methodist Church in Summerfield. The churches, both well more than a century old, have never had a female pastor. ''I love my job here,'' Coates says.

She loves to tell the story about what she called a 15-year-old alcoholic and petty criminal. She told him he could turn his life around. Years later she received a letter from him saying that he was in college, a premedical student, and wanted to thank her for her concern.
Then there are the couples who stop her in a store or restaurant and remind her that she presided over their courthouse wedding. ''And I'll say, 'You still married?''' she laughs.

She remembers having a flat tire in the middle of the night when a man walked by. ''I know you,'' the man told Coates. Coates remembered the man, too: He was brought before her one night with barely any clothes on, too drunk to do anything but sleep it off overnight in a cell. He changed her tire that night.
''She has seen all the things that happen to people when they are mean, lose their temper and do bad things,'' said senior Resident Superior Court Judge Douglas Albright, who along with District Court Judge Lawrence McSwain appoints magistrates.

But for Coates, loving her job didn't mean she could continue doing it. ''I've been so sick so much Judge McSwain and Judge Albright could have said we are not going to reappoint this woman, but they've been great. But I had to pick the one that gave me the most satisfaction. The church is more gratifying.'' Those who know Coates talk about her deep concern for people. She is the former president of Guilford County Schools' parent-teacher association and a well-known worker in the community.

She infuses humor into everything she does. It is a humor that can break tensions in a courtroom. ''Can I go get some water,'' an angry plaintiff said recently, during a domestic case. ''Knock yourself out,'' she replies. The man broke a smile.

''She may sometimes seem to have a hard shell, but she has a big heart,'' said Coates' husband George, who is the chief operating officer of the Triangle United Way in Raleigh. The couple and their 18-year-old son George Jr., a freshman at UNC Pembroke, are all ministers.

''It's a little confusing when you ask for Rev. Coates now,'' says George Jr., who wants to be an Army chaplain. ''We have to ask which one.'' Coates' husband of 24 years is philosophical about the common thread that runs through the family.

''That's God's doing -- not ours,'' George says. ''It means we've all been open to be used by God. The fact that he chose us makes us feel honored, blessed and fortunate.'' One of the things being a judge never prepared Coates for was her first funeral.
''It wasn't so bad because I haven't had to preach and tell a lie,'' she says with a laugh, Then she gets serious, mentioning the woman was at peace with her maker. She knows that not everyone who ends up in front of her will have been prepared.

''No, when you have somebody like that, you preach to the audience, not about the person.'' It's all about knowing your audience, she says -- just like knowing the robes.
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Sources: WNCC Justice and Reconciliation Team; Horton High School Alumni Association; Greensboro News & Observer article