Irene F. Coffman, 100, of Barry, died Friday, July 31, 2009, at the Barry Community Care Center, where she had resided since May 2006. The daughter of Thomas and Anna (Fletcher) Fulton, she was born Dec. 7, 1908, at Rose Creek, near Austin, Minn. and was raised in Princeton, Iowa. The descendant of immigrants from Northern Ireland, Mrs. Coffmans roots can be traced to Edymore, Strathmore, Northern Ireland, a family farm that Mrs. Coffman visited with her sister and daughter in 1967.

She is survived by three daughters, Carol Bryson (Sandy) of East Lansing, Mich., Linda Finkle (Kenneth) of Jacksonville and Susan Johnson (James) of Dallas, Texas; five grandchildren, Heather Meek (Aaron) of Jacksonville, Melinda Finkle of Springfield, Ohio, James Johnson of Dallas, Texas, Jennifer Johnson of Nashville, Tenn. and Thomas Bryson (Heidi) of Shaker Heights, Ohio; four great-grandchildren, Rylie, Ian and Finnegan Meek of Jacksonville and Beth Bryson of Shaker Heights, Ohio. She is preceded in death by her three sisters, Ruth Bahr, Celia Lundahl, and Bernice Fletcher.

She began her collegiate career at Grinnell College in Iowa and graduated from the University of Illinois, Champaign-Urbana in 1930, receiving a BA in Mathematics with Honors. She was also inducted into the Pi Mu Epsilon mathematical honor society. She taught mathematics at Barry high school from September 1930 through June 1937, when she was married to Clarence Moon Coffman of Barry who precede her in death Aug. 12, 1984. She worked along side her husband for many years in the operation of the Coffman Orchards, serving as bookkeeper for the family business. She also served several terms on the board of the Barry Public Library. Her greatest efforts during her life were the care of her family. She was a supportive wife and mother.

Services were entrusted to Kirgan Funeral Home of Barry, Illinois.

Irene F. Coffman, 100, of Barry, died Friday, July 31, 2009, at the Barry Community Care Center, where she had resided since May 2006. The daughter of Thomas and Anna (Fletcher) Fulton, she was born Dec. 7, 1908, at Rose Creek, near Austin, Minn. and was raised in Princeton, Iowa. The descendant of immigrants from Northern Ireland, Mrs. Coffmans roots can be traced to Edymore, Strathmore, Northern Ireland, a family farm that Mrs. Coffman visited with her sister and daughter in 1967.

She is survived by three daughters, Carol Bryson (Sandy) of East Lansing, Mich., Linda Finkle (Kenneth) of Jacksonville and Susan Johnson (James) of Dallas, Texas; five grandchildren, Heather Meek (Aaron) of Jacksonville, Melinda Finkle of Springfield, Ohio, James Johnson of Dallas, Texas, Jennifer Johnson of Nashville, Tenn. and Thomas Bryson (Heidi) of Shaker Heights, Ohio; four great-grandchildren, Rylie, Ian and Finnegan Meek of Jacksonville and Beth Bryson of Shaker Heights, Ohio. She is preceded in death by her three sisters, Ruth Bahr, Celia Lundahl, and Bernice Fletcher.

She began her collegiate career at Grinnell College in Iowa and graduated from the University of Illinois, Champaign-Urbana in 1930, receiving a BA in Mathematics with Honors. She was also inducted into the Pi Mu Epsilon mathematical honor society. She taught mathematics at Barry high school from September 1930 through June 1937, when she was married to Clarence Moon Coffman of Barry who precede her in death Aug. 12, 1984. She worked along side her husband for many years in the operation of the Coffman Orchards, serving as bookkeeper for the family business. She also served several terms on the board of the Barry Public Library. Her greatest efforts during her life were the care of her family. She was a supportive wife and mother.

Services were entrusted to Kirgan Funeral Home of Barry, Illinois.