He is survived by his wife Martha Jane Coffman and three children; Melanie Coffman of Tallulah, LA; Tony and Chunling Coffman of Houston, TX; Shelby and Roxanne Coffman of Harlingen, TX; four grandsons, Gram Coffman, Neal Coffman, Trenton Coffman, and Trevor Coffman; and sister Karen Baucom of San Angelo, TX. Jan was preceded in death by his parents and eldest sister Donna Grubbs.
Jan was born in Fort Worth, TX to Clarence Edgar and Mary Louise Coffman, the youngest of three children. He attended Arlington Heights High School in Forth Worth, Texas Christian University, and Howard Payne University in Brownwood, TX. At Howard Payne, he met the love of his life, Martha Jane Coffman. They were married in 1964 in McAllen, TX and lived together for 55 years.
After completing his studies in business and accounting, Jan moved to Harlingen, TX and worked for several agricultural businesses in the Rio Grande Valley and Mexico. Jan was a manager and foreman at Crockett Wholesale Nursery in Harlingen, Kinney Bonded Warehouse in Donna, and Greenleaf Nursery in Harlingen. Clients included retail garden centers, the US Department of Agriculture, and other wholesale nursery operations. He retired in 2005 and moved to Hamilton, TX.
Jan had a passion for anything with wheels or wings. He purchased his first car at the age of 14, using savings from a newspaper route. Then, without a driver's license and against his mother's wishes, Jan drove his new car on the first day of school for 9th grade. This began a life-long passion for classic American cars and trucks of the 40's-70's. On a typical weekend, he could be found in the family room watching Nascar, NHRA racing, Dallas Cowboys, or taking is '72 Chevy truck to a car show. In his later years, he teamed up with Larry Sullivan to host the Hamilton Classic Car show which drew like-minded car enthusiasts from around central Texas.
In addition to classic cars and hot rods, Jan loved mechanical projects of all kinds: woodworking, model trains and rockets, hobby horses, and radio-controlled vehicles. Some of the most memorable DIY projects that entertained his family were a homemade fishing skiff, a replica Formula 1 car, minibikes and go-karts, dune buggies, a teardrop trailer, and a hovercraft using plans purchased from Popular Mechanics magazine.
A graveside service will be held at Laurel Land Memorial Park in Fort Worth on Saturday May 18, 2019 at 11:00AM. In lieu of flowers, memorial donations may be sent to Texas Pythian Home, https://pythianhome.org/Donate.html.
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