Obituary of Joseph Coons Joe Coons died suddenly Thursday, February 21, 2019, doing what he loved to do, working on boats. He was born January 1, 1935, in New York City, the son of Sheldon and Elizabeth Coons. He lived in New York City until he graduated from Union College, Schenectady, NY, with a degree in economics.
Following graduation he married Judy Van Heusen of Scotia, NY. They moved to Connecticut where he was employed by Proctor & Gamble and then Southern New England Telephone. In 1961 he purchased radio stations WOHI and WOHI-FM in East Liverpool, OH.
He established a consulting business and began doing joint ventures with IGM Inc. of Bellingham, ultimately merging with them and moving his family to Bellingham. Shortly thereafter he established a new company, Paperwork Systems Inc., selling to worldwide radio stations. In 1978 he sold PSI to Control Data Corp.
and relocated to New Canaan, CT for three years as president of the new Control Data Division. Upon completion of his Control Data contract, the family returned to Bellingham for good. He created JCA Systems which developed software, was a broker with Bellingham Yacht Sales, and started his own yacht charter company Skylark Charters, which he sold in 1999.
He continued training and consulting for various Bellingham area charter companies and boat owners, including Northwest Explorations, while writing and publishing operating manuals for numerous charter yachts. Joe was involved in numerous community organizations including the Rotary Club of Bellingham, serving as president for the 2003-3004 year. He was a past member of the St. Joseph Hospital Advisory Board and a founder of Station KZAZ-FM.
He was a past vestryman and treasurer of both St. Paul’s Church in Bellingham and St. Stephen’s Church in East Liverpool. He was a founder of the Citizen’s Scholarship Foundation of the Tri State Area serving seven school districts in Ohio, West Virginia, and Pennsylvania, which has given away over $9 million in scholarships to date, and was president of the Ohio State Dollars for Scholars organization. While in Ohio he was given an Annual Distinguished Citizen Award by his city’s JayCees.
Joe served as a board member of the Whatcom Family Y, the Bellingham Festival of Music, and several other organizations. An active instrument-rated pilot, he served a term as president of the Washington Pilots’ Association and its local chapter, which presented him with their Pilot of the Year award. His primary hobbies were writing and boating.
He was a past Commodore of the Bellingham Yacht Club and wrote a booklet on boat operation as well as a regular boating safety column and the Yacht Club’s newsletter. In recent years he was devoted to participation in a memoir-writing group who became dear friends. He loved good stories!
Joe is survived by his wife Judy, daughter Catherine Coons of Arizona, and son David (Angus) Coons of Bellingham. The family requests memorials be directed to the Whatcom Community Foundation, 1500 Cornwall Ave. , Bellingham, WA 98225, for equal distribution to the Bellingham Technical College and Whatcom Community College Scholarship Funds.
A gathering of friends to celebrate Joe’s life will be held Monday, March 4, from 4 to 6 in the Marina Room at the Bellingham Yacht Club.
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