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Donald Max Coffman, 89, of Cherokee, OK, passed away on Saturday, May 4, 2024, due to natural causes. Don was born to Leighton and Goldie Coffman on October 28, 1934 in Coyle, Oklahoma. Don grew up on a small farm outside of Stillwater, Oklahoma and was the second of five children—four boys, one girl.
In his youth, Don was a talented baseball player and water skier. He loved cars and had a new 1958 Ford Skyliner until he figured out car payments were a bad idea. While in his twenties, Don frequently went back and forth to California to work with his father and brother on a hunting ranch. While back in Stillwater, Oklahoma, working at a filing station, he met Mark Ginder who was also working at the station. Don was introduced to Mark’s sister Vicki, and eventually ended up marrying her.
Don and Vicki decided to settle in California and Don soon got a job working for Sunkist. He loved working for Sunkist and quickly moved up to a position working in the lab on concentrated orange juice. While in California Don learned to fly. On a trip to Baja California with some buddies, he tore the landing gear off the plane he was flying due to broken glass on the runway. With no plane to fly back, he had to ride in the back of a pick-up for two days to get back to California. In 1972 Don and Vicki moved back to Cherokee to work for Vicki's father, Bill Ginder. Soon thereafter Don began leasing ground from Bill and farmed full-time until 1982, when after a falling out with Bill, the leases were not renewed. Needing another way to make a living, Don got a job working for the Soil Conservation Service in Cherokee where he designed terraces, ponds and waterways.
After retiring from the SCS, Don farmed full-time until 2021. Don loved his dog Buddy, horses and particularly loved putting up alfalfa hay. He had the good fortune to make a few contacts in the horse racing industry and dabbled in quarter horse racing for a time. Don is survived by his wife Vicki, sons Tim and Kent and his granddaughters, Rachelynn, Julia and Reese.
A celebration of life service will be held at the Lanman Funeral Home in Cherokee, Oklahoma May 20th, 2024 at 1:00 p.m. Arrangements are by Lanman Funeral Home, Inc. of Cherokee. Website: www.lanmanfuneralhome.com Facebook: Lanman Funeral Home Inc.
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