Dr. Richard Edmunds Coons

Dr. Richard Edmunds Coons, age 85, passed away peacefully on February 6, 2025, in Austin, Texas. His family will remember him as a patient, caring and loving husband and father who enjoyed sharing stories of his childhood with them and entertaining them with jokes and comics from The Far Side, Calvin and Hobbs, Doonesberry, and clippings from The New Yorker, which he carried in his wallet to pull out at any moment. His children will remember how he enjoyed reciting poetry by Robert Frost and Robert Service during family dinners. His family will cherish the annual Christmas poems he wrote to honor his wife and each of his six children, as he addressed each person while standing in front of the Christmas tree. His grandchildren will remember Granddad’s warm hugs, the funny faces Granddad made at the dinner table, his love of ice cream, his love of telling stories and jokes, and how he liked to hold them upside down for grins. Most of all, his family will remember how he started every conversation with, “How are you?” because he really wanted to know. His friends will remember him for his friendship and wit, and their shared interests in hunting and fishing and their shared interest in wine. Colleagues in the legal and medical communities will remember him as a general and forensic psychiatrist, friend, and mentor.

Richard was born on January 6, 1940, in Charleston, West Virginia. Richard attended Hampden-Sydney College in Virginia where he was a member of the Chi Phi Fraternity, which he supported throughout his life. During his college years, Richard was influenced by his Uncle Dr. Edwin “Shep” Shepherd, an ENT Physician, who operated a medical clinic in Charleston, West Virginia. In 1962, Richard graduated with a Bachelor of Science degree from Hampden-Sydney College.

Richard continued his education at the University of Texas at Austin where he was awarded a Bachelor of Laws Degree from the University of Texas in 1964, followed by a Doctor of Jurisprudence Degree from the University of Texas in 1964. After becoming licensed to practice law in the state of Texas in 1964, Richard was accepted at the University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston where he earned a Doctor of Medicine Degree in 1968, followed by a one-year rotating internship at Cincinnati General Hospital in Cincinnati, Ohio, where he became interested in practicing psychiatry. Richard completed a Residency in Psychiatry at the University of Texas Medical Branch in Galveston from 1969 to 1972. Richard served as a Major in the U.S. Army Medical Corp., where he was sent by the Department of the Army to the Commander in Chief of the U.S. Army in in Europe to serve as Director of the Drug and Alcohol Program.

Upon completion of his military service in 1974, Richard moved to Austin, Texas, and joined the Austin Neuropsychiatric Clinic, where he practiced General and Forensic Psychiatry for 41 years until his retirement on August 31, 2015. During Richard’s career as a General and Forensic Psychiatrist in Austin, his practice changed from mostly treating private patients to mostly practicing forensic work. Richard performed many evaluations for civil and criminal matters in County, State and Federal Courts throughout Texas and New Mexico.

Richard believed that education was important since it created the foundation on which a person’s life would be built. As a licensed medical professional, Richard was a Diplomat of the American Psychiatric Association and a member of many professional organizations including the Texas Medical Association, the Travis County Medical Society, the Titus Harris Society in Galveston and the American Academy of Psychiatry and the Law, The Saturday Club and The Journal Club.

An avid outdoorsman, Richard enjoyed hunting with his family and friends in the Texas Hill Country, Montana, Wyoming, Canada, and Alaska. Richard was an expert fly fisherman, and enjoyed flyfishing in the Guadalupe River in Texas, the San Juan River in Colorado, the Snake River in Idaho, and flyfishing in Patagonia and Belize. He found enjoyment in teaching others the proper techniques for flyfishing. Richard had a keen interest in wine which he shared with others as a member of the Confrerie des Chevaliers du Tastevin and Knights of the Vine, and as cofounder and part owner of the Austin Wine Merchant.

Richard adored his wife, Martha Fletcher Coons, to whom he was married for 47 years. In addition to raising six children, Richard and Martha enjoyed spending time with family and friends in Pagosa Springs, Colorado, where Richard enjoyed snow skiing at Wolf Creek and fishing in the San Juan River. Richard and Martha enjoyed traveling abroad to many countries and motorcycling in Colorado, Texas and New Mexico. Richard and Martha supported a multitude of organizations in Austin, including the Austin Symphony Orchestra and Knights of the Symphony, where Richard was voted Lord Chancellor XXXIV, The Dance Club and the Austin Assembly, as well as the Settlement Home of Austin, Friends of the Governor’s Mansion, KLRU, the Lady Bird Wildflower Center, the Texas History Museum, and the Rotary Club of Austin, and the Sam Houston Society, and Richard and Martha served on the Board of the HeartGift Foundation.

Richard was predeceased by his parents, Henry Bradbury Coons, II and Harriet Edmunds Coons, his brother Henry Bradbury “Brad” Coons, III, and granddaughter, Sophie Haddad. Richard treasured his family, who will miss him dearly. He is survived by his wife, Martha Fletcher Coons, and six children and their spouses, Michelle Miller Haddad and son-in-law Sam Haddad, James Milton Miller, Jr., Richard Edmunds Coons, Jr., Holly Miller Carroll and son-in law Jon Carroll, Anna Coons Pyeatt, and Edward Newbury Coons. Richard loved being Granddad to Ariana Haddad Shabro (Vahid Shabro), Susannah Haddad (Stephen Lindemann), Catherine Carroll, Isabella Haddad, Ginger Rodriguez, Helen Carroll, Perrin Coons, Katherine Pyeatt, and William Pyeatt, and Great Granddad to Armin Shabro and Milad Shabro. Richard appreciated Lesli Chandler Coons, mother to Perrin Coons, and Mark Pyeatt, father to Katherine Pyeatt and William Pyeatt. Richard is survived by his sister, former Ambassador, Harriet Coons Babbitt of Washington. D.C. and spouse, former Governor of Arizona, Bruce Babbitt, and many cousins, nieces and nephews.

A private family celebration of life service will take place in memory of Richard. Richard’s family extends their deepest appreciation to Weed-Corley-Fish Funeral Home and the caregivers at Heavenly Care Home Health.

To express condolences, visit https://www.dignitymemorial.com/obituaries/austin-tx/richard-coons-12244914.

In lieu of flowers, please consider making a memorial contribution in honor of Dr. Richard E. Coons, to the HeartGift Foundation at https://heartgift.org or 3310 W. Braker Lane, Ste. 300-704, Austin, TX 78758 or Mobile Loaves & Fishes, Attn: Community First! at https://mlf.org/community-first or 9301 Hog Eye Road, Unit 950, Austin, TX 78724.