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Steven M. Coogan  

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[March 15, 2021]  LATHAM - Steven Michael Coogan, 72, passed away surrounded by his loving family Friday, February 26, 2021, after battling idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis for nine years.

Rosary:  4:30 p.m. on Tuesday, March 2, 2021, with visitation from 5:00 p.m. -7:00 p.m. at Saint Thomas Aquinas Catholic Church in Mount Pulaski

Visitation: Tuesday, March 2, 2021, from 5:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m. at the church

A fire department and EMS walk through is scheduled for 7:00 p.m.

Service: Wednesday, March 3, 2021, at 11:00 a.m. at the church

Funeral home: Peasley Funeral Home, Lincoln     

Obituary

Steven Michael Coogan, 72, passed away surrounded by his loving family Friday, February 26, 2021, after battling idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis for nine years.

The Rosary will be recited at 4:30 p.m. on Tuesday, March 2, 2021, with visitation from 5:00 p.m. -7:00 p.m. at Saint Thomas Aquinas Catholic Church in Mount Pulaski. A fire department and EMS walk through is scheduled for 7:00 p.m.

A Mass of Christian Burial will be held on Wednesday, March 3, 2021, at 11:00 a.m. at Saint Thomas Aquinas Catholic Church. Rev. Thomas Shaw will officiate. Burial will follow at St. Mary’s Cemetery in Lincoln.

CDC guidelines regarding social distancing and face coverings will be observed.

Memorials may be made to St. Jude’s Children Hospital.

Steve was born November 12, 1948, in Lincoln, to John J. and Elizabeth Feldman Coogan. He married Pamela Aper on February 20, 1971. She survives. They have 2 children, Angela Morey (Sherwood, WI) and Sean (Gina) Coogan (Blue Mound); four grandchildren: Ryan and Reece Morey, Patrick Coogan, and Beth Kerns; and 3 great-grandchildren: Ryan, Lilliana, and Andre. Steve is also survived by two sisters, Denise Coogan (CherryHill, NJ) and Deborah (Tony) Soloman (Lincoln).

Steve was preceded in death by his parents, and two sisters, Mary Catherine Darter and Ann Coogan.

Steve attended St. Mary’s Catholic School and graduated from LCHS in 1967. He also attended Lincoln College. Steve was employed by Lincoln Developmental Center in 1967, and then Logan Mason Rehab in 1981, where he retired in 2014.

In 1979, Steve joined the Latham Volunteer Fire Department and was instrumental in establishing the Latham Rescue Squad. Steve was also a Trustee of the Latham Village Board.

Steve had a very strong faith and loved his family dearly. He was a member of the St. Thomas Aquinas Catholic Church and a religious education teacher.

 

Funeral Director

 

Steve was a member of the Central Illinois Herpetological Society and Champaign Area Society Herpetoculturist. He also was a member of the Springfield Audubon and Illinois Audubon Societies. Steve loved nature and especially loved sharing his knowledge with children. He was a deep-thinking naturalist. He would sometimes be referred to as a walking encyclopedia.

Steve has gifted all those whose lives he touched a legacy of compassion, empathy, and a willingness to constantly learn and teach. Steve dedicated his life to working with special people. His compassion and empathy toward a portion of our society that is sometimes forgotten defined his character. It was his strength of character that quietly taught us that all life was deserving of dignity and those he cared for were treated as equals. Steve never assumed anything less about each of them and they, in turn, loved him deeply. To provide dignity to the forgotten defined who Steve was, and it is this unselfish trait that will be remembered most.

Never missing an opportunity to talk about his passion for birds or reptiles, Steve inevitably used these opportunities to teach compassion and empathy for the natural world. A quiet walk through the woods would almost always end with a teachable moment. His passion for the natural world and its inhabitants flowed through him, through his children, and then to his grandchildren. Like those that he cared for during his career, the wildlife that he studied and cherished became another vessel in which he could quietly teach us about compassion and empathy.

Steve was a great storyteller. He delighted in telling funny stories and we all delighted in hearing them, no matter how many times before he told the story. His disarming nature made friends of strangers and turned friends into life-long friends. The subtle way in which Steve impacted the lives around him will not be soon forgotten.

The family would like to thank everyone for all the prayers, encouraging words, cards, and food.

Final arrangements are entrusted with Peasley Funeral Home of Lincoln.


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Funeral Director

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