Geraldine Pitts Coon, 91 years of age, passed into the arms of her loving Savior on September 1, 2013, at the Lenoir Health Care Center in Columbia, Missouri.
Geraldine (Gerry) was born December 7, 1921, in Hermitage, Missouri, to Alpha Helen Bandel and Harry Alexander Pitts.
She married Elmer Dee Coon, Jr. on August 23, 1942, in Galena, Stone County, Missouri. During the 32 years Dee served in the Air Force, they lived in eight states, as well as Japan, England, and Germany. Gerry loved the life of an Air Force wife and eagerly looked forward to each assignment.
They both enjoyed their travels, seeing different cultures, and making new friends. She worked for 25 years as a licensed realtor in Colorado Springs, Colorado, where Dee retired in 1973. Dee died in Colorado Springs on 16 April 1997; Gerry remained there until 2000 when she moved to Columbia, Missouri.
Gerry was most fulfilled when helping her family as well as members of her church and community. She was actively involved in her church (Disciples of Christ) and the Order of the Eastern Star. She was a Red Cross volunteer and also volunteered in community service organizations wherever she lived. She was an avid bowler and an enthusiastic genealogy researcher. Above all she was a supportive wife, a loving mother, and the heart of the family.
She is survived by her four children: Ethel Carolyn Coon Savoy of Columbia, Missouri; Alpha Marilyn Coon Shackelford and husband Scott of Lancaster, California; Elmer Dee Coon, III, of Ellicott City, Maryland; and Norma Jayne Coon Delgado of Raymore, Missouri; ten grandchildren; and seventeen great-grandchildren. She is also survived by two brothers, William L. Pitts and Fred Dee Pitts and his wife Peggy; and sister-in-law, Carol Mae Pitts, widow of Harry Herbert Pitts. She was preceded in death by her parents; her husband of 54 years; a half-sister, Josephine Victoria Pitts Gambill; and a brother, Harry Herbert Pitts.
A visitation will be held from 12:00-3:00 p.m. on Sunday at the Shrine of Remembrance Funeral Home. Funeral services will be in Colorado Springs, Colorado, at 10:00 a.m. on Monday, September 9, 2013 at Shrine of Remembrance, 1730 East Fountain Boulevard. She will be buried with her husband at Ft. Logan National Cemetery in Denver, Colorado. Later a celebration of life will be held at the First Christian Church in Columbia, Missouri.
In lieu of flowers the family requests donations be made to the Lenoir Brotherhood Foundation, 3700 Lenoir Street, Columbia, Missouri 65201; Hospice, Parkinson’s Foundation, or a charity of your choice.