Joseph S. Coatsworth

Joseph S. Coatsworth Obituary Joseph S. Coatsworth of Scottsdale passed away on March 24, 2022, after a long illness. He is survived by his wife of 45 years, Karen Thurston Coatsworth. Joe composed this obituary long before his illness: The Coatsworths were married in 1976, and Karen was both the love of his life and his best friend. Joe proudly had several careers. After graduating from the University of Wisconsin he taught school in Middletown, Connecticut for 2 years and enjoyed all his students. In 1970 Joe was elected to the CT House of Representatives, where he served for 5 consecutive terms as Assistant Majority Leader and Deputy Speaker of the House, and never lost an election. He was proud of his service as a legislator. During the same period Joe was employed as a Commercial Loan Officer and Municipal Finance Officer for Hartford National Bank, at that time the largest commercial bank in Connecticut. In 1994 he earned a master's degree in business administration (MBA) from the University of Hartford. From 1980 until 2001 Joe was Vice President, Government Relations, of the CT Hospital Association and represented 31 CT non-profit hospitals before the CT General Assembly and state agencies, as well as Members of the United States Congress. He was proud of his service as a legislator. He became managing partner of Coatsworth and Walkovitch, LLC, a firm engaged in representing clients before state and federal agencies. During this time, he was also elected Chairman of the Portland (CT) Democratic Party for more than 10 years. In 2000 he became a NYSE and NASDAQ licensed stockbroker for A.G.Edwards and Sons in Hartford, CT. After retiring to Scottsdale in late 2001, Joe became Chief Executive Officer of the AZ Association of Community Health Centers in Phoenix, in June 2003. He was appointed by Arizona's Governor to the state Medicaid Advisory Commission, as well as the Committee to Establish Electronic Medical Records for AZ Health Care Providers. Joe was nationally known as an expert in Medicaid and other healthcare reimbursement systems and had been appointed by Connecticut's Governors to several Medicaid Commissions. He was sole representative of CT hospitals on the State Commission to Establish a Prospective Payment System for Health Care Providers. He retired once again in July 2009 and subsequently became a member the board of Neighborhood Outreach for Access to Healthcare, (NOAH) and later Chairman of the Board of this Federally Qualified Community Health Center, which served 45,441 patients last year in the Scottsdale/Phoenix area. Throughout his life, Joe loved Collies, having 3 of them in Connecticut and 3 more after moving to Arizona. Joe grew up in a single parent family with 2 brothers, John and James. His father abandoned the family and Joe had no memory of his father but did meet him once while he was in 4th grade in Stamford, CT. As a result of this abandonment, the family had few resources, usually lacked sufficient food, and lived in many different apartments and in public housing projects. At one time they lived in half of a Quonset hut. While Joe was intensely affected by and aware of these difficult beginnings, he often spoke about the fact that poverty was much more widespread in the 1950's than it is today. Access to health care was extremely limited since Medicaid for the indigent wasn't passed until 1966. Joe graduated from high school in Highland Park, New Jersey after attending several high schools in three different states. Joe and his brothers were raised by his mother Janet who he described as the best mother anyone could ever have --despite their financial circumstances. In late 1978 Joe and Karen adopted three children, all siblings, who had been living in different CT foster homes - Tommy, 20 months, Jenny, age 3 and Melissa age 5. Joe enjoyed playing with the children, supporting them in their interests, taking them on vacations and just loving them. He is survived by Tommy and Jenny, both of whom live in the Northeast, while Melissa predeceased him in 2008 while living in Illinois. Both of Joe's brothers, John and Jim, survive him and had distinguished careers as well, despite growing up with very limited financial resources. Jim had a 40-year career as an official with the CT. State Department of Labor, and John, who earned a Ph.D. from the University of Wisconsin, became a Professor at the University of Chicago, Harvard University and Columbia University in New York City. John continues his career as a Columbia Professor after having retired as Provost of Columbia University in Manhattan, NY. A Celebration of Life will be held at Spring Glen Church, Hamden, CT on Saturday, May 14th at 3:00 PM.