Donald Earl Coon

Donald Earl Coon, 97, of Woodland Pond, New Paltz passed away peacefully on September 20, 2025. Son of Cecil Earl Coon and Jeanette (Van Allen) Coon, he was born in Fond du Lac, Wisconsin in 1928. He was predeceased by his wife of 50 years, Hideko Abe Coon. He is survived by his three children, two grandchildren, and two great-grandchildren.

An Air Force veteran, he served during the Korean War. After returning to civilian life, he earned a degree in engineering and pursued a life-long career in computer programming at IBM. In retirement, he worked as a consultant and collaborated on a language learning game. He enjoyed science fiction and astronomy, studied the architecture of Frank Lloyd Wright, enjoyed solving puzzles, and expressed his artistic visions in original string-art and decorative and functional woodwork. He was a master Go player and taught many the skills of the game.

A long-time resident of Woodland Pond, he’ll be remembered fondly by all.