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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.
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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.
Click here to send a note of condolence to the
family of Steven M. Coogan
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