Obituary of Stan Coons

Arnold Stanley Coons passed into heaven on the morning of February 16, 2020. He was born in Dawson Creek, British Colombia on October 2, 1945 to the late Arnold Coons and his mother Gloria Coons. Stan grew up on the family farm west of Rolla. Stan loved the adventure of growing up on the farm and being with his many friends; many of his childhood friends remained close to him for the rest of his life. Stan and Maxine were married on November 4, 1967. They were blessed with three children, Debbie, Darla, and Twyla. Stan and Maxine moved to their farm in Bonanza in 1974. In addition to grain farming, Stan also started raising cattle. He also purchased a backhoe and truck so he could work in the oil patch to supplement his farming income. Stan always enjoyed trucking and had many stories about his trucking experience. Stan was an active member of both the Bonanza and Dawson Creek communities. Stan will be loving remembered by his wife Maxine; children Debbie, Darla (Cameron) Janzen, and Twyla (Linden) Schneider; mother Gloria Coons, brothers Bob, Dennis, and Michael (Eileen); five grandchildren Caleb, Ryan, and Nathan Janzen, and Lilly and Sophia Schneider; mother in-law Joy McNeely; in laws Bonnie, Brian (Bev), Gordie, Dillon (Holly), Darlene (Mac), Brent (Lorrie), numerous nephews and nieces, and his many friends. He is predeceased by father Arnold Coons, and his father in law Steve McNeely. A funeral service was held on February 21, 2020 at the Rolla Baptist Bible Church. Pastors Bob Rempel and Gary Henderson officiated. Expressions of sympathy may be made by donation to the War Amps, 2827 Riverside Drive, Ottawa, Ontario K1V 0C4. Eulogy Arnold Stanley Coons was born in Dawson Creek, British Colombia on October 2, 1945. The proud parents were the late Arnold Coons and his mother Gloria Coons. Stan has three brothers; Bob, Dennis and Michael. He married his childhood sweetheart Maxine McNeely on November 4, 1967 and they had three daughters together; Debbie, Darla and Twyla. Over the years his family grew to include 2 son-in laws and 5 grandchildren. Stan passed into heaven on the morning of February 16, 2020. Stan grew up on the family farm west of Rolla. He attended Rolla Elementary school from Grades 1-6 and went to Central Junior High. Stan loved the adventure of growing up on the farm and being with his many friends; many of his childhood friends remained close to him for the rest of his life. Stan enjoyed skating, curling and was involved in the 4H program where he had some of the top honors. Stan's childhood love of curling followed him into adulthood. One of his favorite memories was a curling bonspiel in Bonanza where he and his three brothers played together on one team. Another favorite memory of Stan's was his time as an ear-man in wild horse races. He particularly enjoyed recalling the time he beat one of the best wild horse teams in the area; led by his future father-in-law and two other experienced cowboys. Stan attended Junior High in Dawson Creek but schooling was never really his forte. His most told stories from school were the time he punched a Rolla teacher in the stomach for falsely accusing him of carving his initials into the wood desk and laughing at the principal when he tried to give Stan the strap. In Grade 9 Stan brought his books home and declared he was finished. His Dad said that was OK but "you aren't sitting around here". Arnold took him into town and got him a job at the Esso station and thus began Stan's adult working life. Even at a young age, he had a great diversity of skills and his physical strength was apparent. He cleared land and picked rocks, worked at the grain elevator, drove truck, rough necked on rigs, and was a labourer on construction projects - if you name it, Stan has probably done it at some point in his life. Stan was always amazing at being able to fix and build things. He enjoyed engineering his own solutions to problems or improvements. Whenever he had "a bit of wreck", he figured out a way to overcome. For example, when the sliding door of his shop falls off - no problem that a front end loader, chains and bit of ingenuity can't solve. As all young men, Stan was proud of his first car, a 1958 Ford. He never ceased to tell people it was an ex-police car and it could really go. He later bought a blue Ford pickup which Maxine was always on the look-out for it case it appeared in Rolla. Stan and Maxine were married on November 4, 1967 and lived in Rolla until 1974. They were blessed with the arrival of Debbie Lee in the spring of 1969. During seeding that year, Stan would sneak into the house whenever he had a few minutes, and would wrap his greasy hands in a towel so he could hold his baby girl for a few minutes. Darla Joy was born in November of 1971 and she was Dad's little charmer with her big blue eyes. She owes her life to her Dad when he calmly dislodged an object when she chocking. Twyla Pauline arrived in July 1981. She was a blessing as the other girls were growing up just too fast and Stan and Maxine were happy to have another baby around. In 1974, the Coons family moved to Bonanza. Stan had got a half section of land in Bonanza when he was 16 years old and divided his time between his Dad's farm in Rolla and his farm in Bonanza. After permanently moving to Bonanza, Stan and Maxine bought Arnold's half section as well as his uncle's. In addition to grain farming, Stan also started raising cattle. He also purchased a backhoe and truck so he could work in the oil patch to supplement his farming income. Stan always enjoyed trucking and had many stories about driving his 1978 Kenworth and his "Pete" and kept trucking until his health issues required him to turn in his class one licence. Stan really enjoyed his last few years of farming before they sold the farm in January 2016. From slicing off the top part of his thumb (just a little cut which he self-treated with horse ointment), getting knocked off the fence by a charging cow just after his heart attack, saying his ribs hurt a bit (just a collapsed lung) Stan was physically as tough as nails and never complained. While he was physically tough, he was soft hearted. He loved little kids and they loved him. He would tear up easily during movies, songs at church, or even commercials. He supported the War Amps throughout his life because it bothered him so much to think of kids losing their limbs and not being able to enjoy playing. Writing a Christmas card each year for his girls and grandkids was just one of the many examples of his tender heart. Stan had a way of making people feel at ease and cared for. When I asked Nathan, my son, what his favorite memory of grandpa was, he replied - There are so many of them but I just liked talking with him. I think many of us could agree to that. Stan never let his health issues deter him from his work or pleasure. He and Maxine always enjoyed travelling together. They made trips to Qatar, Spain, Florida, and Myanmar to see the grandchildren. Two trips to California and trips to Yellowknife, the Dakota's, Montana and Nashville were special memories for Stan. Stan fulfilled his dream of going to Alaska in 2011. In addition to longer trips, Stan greatly enjoyed many campouts with his friends. He enjoyed making morning pancakes for everyone and sitting around the campfire sharing stories and catching up on local news. The annual McNeely weekend campout was always a highlight, particularly when he was able to host them on the farm. After retiring to Bay Tree, Stan took up gardening and working in the greenhouse. Stan discovered he had quite the green thumb and grew amazing tomatoes, strawberries, and cucumbers. We will be able to enjoy his many jars of pickles and salsa for at least the next two years. Stan greatly enjoyed reading; he had just finished reading the Rolla history book from cover to cover. Like his dad, he enjoyed watching baseball and curling in retirement. He even got into Raptor's basketball courtesy of his grandsons. He liked puttering and building things for others in his shop and this past Christmas, he made wood gifts for the girls and Maxine. Just this past Friday, he finished a wood stepping block for Gloria so she could get in and out of the car easier. Living internationally for the past 23 years, I have had the opportunity to experience funeral rituals from many different cultures and faiths. One of the unique aspects of the Christian faith is that death is viewed in part as a celebration of our relationship with God. Often this celebration is seen only in the context of the promise of eternal life or heaven. However, this celebration is also a time of thanks for the impact our relationship with God has had on our time here on earth. This is very true about Stan. Stan was not a preacher of words but he did have a daily testimony to the power and love of God. The following is an open prayer of thanks to God and the testimony of Stan. God we thank you for the gift of life. 74 years ago Gloria Coons experienced both the pain and tremendous love that comes from giving birth. Thank you for the gift of motherly love that starts from the moment a mother first looks at her newborn son until his last days on earth. We thank you for Stan and his testimony to his family. Anyone that ever spent any time with Stan knew how much he loved his girls. That deep Christ-like love of family was the passion of his soul. His commitment to family was modelled and witnessed by his cousins, in-laws, sons in law and grandchildren. God we thank you for the gift of community. You teach us to love our neighbor as you would yourself. Thank you that Stan demonstrated this teaching in his care for his neighbors. In a time of increasing social isolation, Stan was never too busy to help a neighbor, stop for a coffee, or attend a wedding or a funeral. Stan did this in part because he was a social person but also because he loved his neighbors and this was his way of showing it. Money, career, or accomplishments were never more important than his relationships with family and friends. God we also thank you for the gift of technology. We are so thankful for the extra 20 years we had with Stan as a result of applied medical knowledge. God we thank you for the gift of marriage. Stan's deep love for Maxine is a powerful example of the Christian marriage. We thank you for Stan and his witness of what it means to be a loving and good husband; someone who does daily small acts of kindness like always making that first cup of coffee in the morning or dig potatoes from the garden. He fulfilled his wedding commitment to Maxine; to love and cherish her until death do us part. God we thank you for the life of Arnold Stanley Coons and that he was, and forever will be, an important part of our lives. Amen. Service 2:00 pm Friday, February 21, 2020 Rolla Bible Baptist Church 617-400 Avenue ROLLA, British Columbia, Canada