A longtime Mandan teacher and former state representative died Friday morning in a vehicle rollover near the town of Buffalo.

James Coats, 79, was killed after being ejected from the vehicle, a Highway Patrol trooper said.

Coats and his wife, Alice, 64, were eastbound on an icy stretch of Interstate 94 when she lost control of their pickup, the trooper said. The vehicle left the road and rolled. James Coats was not wearing a seatbelt, according to the Highway Patrol. He was flown to Fargo's MeritCare Hospital, where he died.

Alice Coats was wearing a seatbelt. She was taken by ambulance to MeritCare, where she was listed as being in stable condition Friday. A hospital spokeswoman said Mrs. Coats was released Saturday afternoon.

James Coats was a Bismarck native. He served in the Navy during World War II and the Korean War. Between the wars, he graduated from Bismarck Junior College and North Dakota State University, where he earned his master's degree in education.

Coats' first teaching job was at Turtle Lake in 1953. He taught at New Salem for two years after that, before moving to Mandan to teach at the high school in 1957. Coats taught mathematics and science at Mandan until his retirement in 1989. During his tenure there he served as president of the Mandan Education Association, and was for many years a member of the district's negotiating team.

"I can't believe he's gone," said Tony Engelhardt, a former Mandan Junior High principal who was Mr. Coats' principal at New Salem. "He was so active. It just goes to show you how fragile life is."

Coats was known as a being a "hard" teacher, but one who was there if a student needed help.

"He was a hell of a teacher," said Dan Ulmer, a former student of Coats' and a Mandan city commissioner. "I took a couple maths from him. One thing you did in Jim's class was your homework because he made you go up to the chalkboard. There was no cheating when you were up there with him watching. And if you didn't know how to (solve the math problem), you did before you went back to your seat."

Coats was also heavily involved in the American Legion. He joined in 1946, and became a member of the Mandan unit in 1965, the year he and Alice married.

He was elected commander of the American Legion's Seventh District in 1982, and was also state director for the Legion's education and scholarship program. Coats was elected commander of Mandan's Gilbert S. Furness Post No. 40 in 1985. In 1989 he was chosen as state American Legion commander. He was active in veterans' affairs until his death.

"He got along well with everyone," said Engelhardt, the current commander of Post No. 40. "He was just a fine person, period."

Coats, a Democrat, was elected to represent District 34 in 1990. He served in the House for eight years. He was perhaps best known for his work to increase teacher pay and make health care more affordable. He also left a highly visible legacy: The strobe lights that flash on top of school buses were his idea.

Coats was also a lifelong volunteer. He was the 1974-75 president of the Mandan United Fund, which raised money for charities. He was a director of the Morton County Red Cross and volunteered for years at Mandan Golden Age Services.

Coats also served on the Selective Service board and the Mandan weed-control board. He was a life member of the Legion, Veterans of Foreign Wars, Elks, Mandan Education Association, North Dakota Education Association and National Education Association. He also was a member of AMVETS. Coats won the Golden Rule Award, the state voluntary action award, the NDEA Leadership Award, the Four-Chaplains Citation and the Legionnaire of the Year award.

In the early 1980s, Coats was state publicity director for the National Hiking and Camping Association, and was involved with the Bismarck-Mandan Roughriders camping club.

He and Alice, who taught sixth grade at St. Joseph Elementary School for 29 years, lived on Sunset Drive in Mandan.

"This is a real loss to the community," Ulmer said. "Jim epitomized public service in numerous ways. He was a straightforward, get-what-you-see kind of guy."

Funeral arrangements are pending, and will be handled by Weigel Funeral Home, in Mandan.

(Reach Tony Spilde at 250-8260 or tspilde@ndonline.com.)