Alfred Martin "Al" Coffman, 95, Knoxville, Tennessee, died peacefully on Saturday (Dec. 20, 2014) in Knoxville.
Al is survived by his two sons, Marty (Lee) and Hugh (Lori); six grandchildren; and four great-grandchildren.
He was preceded in death by his loving wife of 64 years, Virginia “Ginna” Coffman in 2011; his two sisters, Lucille Roberts and Frances Berry and a grandchild, Gavin Clark Coffman in 1984.
A member of the Greatest Generation, Al was born in Gordonsville, Va., on Jan. 17, 1919, and entered the service in January of 1942. He flew 30 combat missions in a B-17 with the 381st Bomb Group, Ridgewell, England, to include D-Day, where his target was the German-occupied city of Caen. He then became a B-29 instructor for the duration of the war. During his time in service, he received the Distinguished Flying Cross and four Air Medals.
He married the love of his life, Virginia "Ginna" Clark, on June 15, 1946, and using the GI Bill, graduated from Virginia Polytechnic Institute with a degree in chemical engineering in 1949. He spent four years with Virginia Pulp & Paper in Covington, Va., before relocating to Avon Lake, Ohio, where he worked for 28 years with B.F. Goodrich as a development scientist, retiring in 1981.
In 2011, after Ginna passed away, Al moved to Knoxville, Tenn., to live with his son Marty. Al’s life was filled with the pursuit of his many hobbies. He was an avid golfer, and loved his fishing trips to Canada, boating on Lake Erie, the Goodrich softball league and his Cleveland Browns season tickets, to include the 1964 NFL title game. He tried his hand at archery and painting in both watercolors and oils and enjoyed fair success as a regular at the blackjack and poker tables in Las Vegas. He also administered astronomy merit badges to the Boy Scouts and was a regular at the local library, reading some two to three books a week.
Published in the Bloomington, Il. Pantagraph Jan 2, 2015
Al is survived by his two sons, Marty (Lee) and Hugh (Lori); six grandchildren; and four great-grandchildren.
He was preceded in death by his loving wife of 64 years, Virginia “Ginna” Coffman in 2011; his two sisters, Lucille Roberts and Frances Berry and a grandchild, Gavin Clark Coffman in 1984.
A member of the Greatest Generation, Al was born in Gordonsville, Va., on Jan. 17, 1919, and entered the service in January of 1942. He flew 30 combat missions in a B-17 with the 381st Bomb Group, Ridgewell, England, to include D-Day, where his target was the German-occupied city of Caen. He then became a B-29 instructor for the duration of the war. During his time in service, he received the Distinguished Flying Cross and four Air Medals.
He married the love of his life, Virginia "Ginna" Clark, on June 15, 1946, and using the GI Bill, graduated from Virginia Polytechnic Institute with a degree in chemical engineering in 1949. He spent four years with Virginia Pulp & Paper in Covington, Va., before relocating to Avon Lake, Ohio, where he worked for 28 years with B.F. Goodrich as a development scientist, retiring in 1981.
In 2011, after Ginna passed away, Al moved to Knoxville, Tenn., to live with his son Marty. Al’s life was filled with the pursuit of his many hobbies. He was an avid golfer, and loved his fishing trips to Canada, boating on Lake Erie, the Goodrich softball league and his Cleveland Browns season tickets, to include the 1964 NFL title game. He tried his hand at archery and painting in both watercolors and oils and enjoyed fair success as a regular at the blackjack and poker tables in Las Vegas. He also administered astronomy merit badges to the Boy Scouts and was a regular at the local library, reading some two to three books a week.
Published in the Bloomington, Il. Pantagraph Jan 2, 2015
Alfred Martin "Al" Coffman, 95, Knoxville, Tennessee, died peacefully on Saturday (Dec. 20, 2014) in Knoxville.
Al is survived by his two sons, Marty (Lee) and Hugh (Lori); six grandchildren; and four great-grandchildren.
He was preceded in death by his loving wife of 64 years, Virginia “Ginna” Coffman in 2011; his two sisters, Lucille Roberts and Frances Berry and a grandchild, Gavin Clark Coffman in 1984.
A member of the Greatest Generation, Al was born in Gordonsville, Va., on Jan. 17, 1919, and entered the service in January of 1942. He flew 30 combat missions in a B-17 with the 381st Bomb Group, Ridgewell, England, to include D-Day, where his target was the German-occupied city of Caen. He then became a B-29 instructor for the duration of the war. During his time in service, he received the Distinguished Flying Cross and four Air Medals.
He married the love of his life, Virginia "Ginna" Clark, on June 15, 1946, and using the GI Bill, graduated from Virginia Polytechnic Institute with a degree in chemical engineering in 1949. He spent four years with Virginia Pulp & Paper in Covington, Va., before relocating to Avon Lake, Ohio, where he worked for 28 years with B.F. Goodrich as a development scientist, retiring in 1981.
In 2011, after Ginna passed away, Al moved to Knoxville, Tenn., to live with his son Marty. Al’s life was filled with the pursuit of his many hobbies. He was an avid golfer, and loved his fishing trips to Canada, boating on Lake Erie, the Goodrich softball league and his Cleveland Browns season tickets, to include the 1964 NFL title game. He tried his hand at archery and painting in both watercolors and oils and enjoyed fair success as a regular at the blackjack and poker tables in Las Vegas. He also administered astronomy merit badges to the Boy Scouts and was a regular at the local library, reading some two to three books a week.
Published in the Bloomington, Il. Pantagraph Jan 2, 2015
Al is survived by his two sons, Marty (Lee) and Hugh (Lori); six grandchildren; and four great-grandchildren.
He was preceded in death by his loving wife of 64 years, Virginia “Ginna” Coffman in 2011; his two sisters, Lucille Roberts and Frances Berry and a grandchild, Gavin Clark Coffman in 1984.
A member of the Greatest Generation, Al was born in Gordonsville, Va., on Jan. 17, 1919, and entered the service in January of 1942. He flew 30 combat missions in a B-17 with the 381st Bomb Group, Ridgewell, England, to include D-Day, where his target was the German-occupied city of Caen. He then became a B-29 instructor for the duration of the war. During his time in service, he received the Distinguished Flying Cross and four Air Medals.
He married the love of his life, Virginia "Ginna" Clark, on June 15, 1946, and using the GI Bill, graduated from Virginia Polytechnic Institute with a degree in chemical engineering in 1949. He spent four years with Virginia Pulp & Paper in Covington, Va., before relocating to Avon Lake, Ohio, where he worked for 28 years with B.F. Goodrich as a development scientist, retiring in 1981.
In 2011, after Ginna passed away, Al moved to Knoxville, Tenn., to live with his son Marty. Al’s life was filled with the pursuit of his many hobbies. He was an avid golfer, and loved his fishing trips to Canada, boating on Lake Erie, the Goodrich softball league and his Cleveland Browns season tickets, to include the 1964 NFL title game. He tried his hand at archery and painting in both watercolors and oils and enjoyed fair success as a regular at the blackjack and poker tables in Las Vegas. He also administered astronomy merit badges to the Boy Scouts and was a regular at the local library, reading some two to three books a week.
Published in the Bloomington, Il. Pantagraph Jan 2, 2015
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