Kenneth L Coffeen

Ken was a favorite cousin and we shall miss him. I remember how much fun we had as children when he visited our Minnesota farm and when we visited his family at Clear Lake. He was great at trying to keep our distant families connected once our parents' generation was gone. Our deepest sympathy to all of his family. We know this will be a difficult time - please know you're in our thoughts and prayers. Love, Bill and Alice (Evans) Hobbs

You wouldn’t really know Ken Coffeen was a passionate guy until you’d know him for a while. That’s probably because he was always so reasonable and so respectful of other peoples’ points of view. But if you did know Ken for a while, you would begin to notice that he always showed up, he always volunteered, he always did what he could and what he thought was the right thing to do – for those causes he believed in. And he usually did it quietly and matter-of-factly – but he always did it. In other words, he was totally reliable. And now he has left a big hole – because having known Ken and worked with him and done stuff with him, I came to rely on him – because ultimately, Ken was the most reliable guy I’ve ever known. If I couldn’t make it to a march on the capitol to protest the most recent attack on Palestinian rights, I knew Ken would be there to represent me. If I couldn’t mail someone’s calendar to their granddaughter who was departing for the Peace Corps the next week, Ken would probably do it – and I wouldn’t worry that it wouldn’t get done. If I couldn’t get to the campground to enjoy the fellowship and fun of group camping, I know Ken would be there. And that’s because Ken was reliable and he really believe in friendship, fellowship, justice, human rights and demonstrated his passion over time in his unassuming presence. And that is how he showed his passion – by stepping up whenever he could for what he believed in. He was a great role model, a great collaborator, such a nice guy and a good friend. He will be sorely missed.