Evelyn Elnora Lannigan Tobin Coffin, Oak Harbor, peacefully slipped away at the McKinley North Whidbey Adult Family Home on Oct. 1, 2011. She was born April 18, 1919, to Sherman and Agnes York Lannigan in Sheridan, Maine. Older sister Beryl and younger brother Darrell completed the family.
Part of her youth was spent living and working for George and Linnie Moores, where she learned to cook, clean, crochet, knit, hook rugs, sew or mend anything, set a proper table, and as a teenager, earned the privilege of driving their Studebaker, one of the few cars in town.
Evelyn married Loren C. Tobin in 1940 and they had two children, Darrell (Butch) Loren Tobin and Barbara Elaine Tobin Wihlborg. Loren died in 1966, and after being widowed for 13 years, Evelyn married widower and old-time schoolmate, Parker F. Coffin in 1979, acquiring two adult step-children, Beth Coffin Emery and Peter O. Coffin.
Always one to contribute to the family’s needs, Evelyn cooked for the Ashland schools, the Rotary Club and for a short while ran the Ashland Diner (until she fell and broke her hip on the ice, thus ending a diner/restaurant career she was not unhappy to leave behind). In 1964, she graduated from Licensed Practical Nurse school and worked at the Arthur R. Gould Memorial Hospital (now Aroostook Medical Center) in Presque Isle, Maine. In 1971, she earned a teaching degree from the University of Maine Presque Isle. She taught first grade at Loring Air Force Base in Limestone, Maine, then moved to her beloved second grade at Pine Street Elementary in Presque Isle.
In their retirement years, Parker and Evelyn moved between their summer “camp” at Echo Lake near Presque Isle, and their winter home in Zephyrhills, Fla. In Florida, they were active in their Colony Hills Neighborhood Watch program, and were highly valued volunteers at East Pasco Medical Center. They were active members of the Trinity United Methodist Church. They were also avid square dancers, domino players and loved potluck dinners.
After the death of Parker in 2004, Evelyn moved to Washington state to be closer to her daughter Barbara and her family. With support, she lived independently for five and a half years, until her osteoporosis caused another fall, bone fracture, and ultimate leg amputation. Thanks to Michele McKinley’s North Whidbey Adult Family Home and good staff, Evelyn’s last one and a half years in a private room with pretty view, and good food and care, have been as good as it could be, minus one leg.
Prior to the loss of her leg, Evelyn was ready to grab her purse and head out the door for an outing or an air trip to Maine. She loved attending St. Stephen’s Episcopal Chapel with Barbara and her church family members. She especially looked forward to sermons and visitation with Bishop Sandy Hampton, Rev. Rachel Taber-Hamilton, Father Charlie Forbes and Father Dick Scott. Evelyn’s days were complete when son Butch made his nightly phone calls from Mapleton, Maine, to her. They could be heard reminiscing about common people they knew in the local Ashland or other “county” areas. The conversations were often triggered by what Evelyn read in the Presque Isle Star-Herald, or the Bangor Daily News, papers that Butch faithfully sent to her weekly. Reading, always important to her, was good to the end.
Evelyn passes her matriarchal baton to son Darrell (Butch) and wife Lorna Tobin, Mapleton, Maine, and to daughter Barbara and husband Jim Wihlborg, Oak Harbor, and to stepson Peter and wife Mary Coffin, Presque Isle, Maine, and stepdaughter Beth and husband Chuck Emery, Murfreesboro, Tenn. Grandchildren Jill and husband Shanon Cotta, Rachel Wihlborg and Peter B. Coffin have all been memorable parts of Evelyn’s life. Great-grandchildren Owen Tobin Cotta and Ellie Lannigan Cotta are significant little people who truly brightened their Nana’s life. Nite-nite Nana.
At Evelyn’s request, private prayers will be said. Contributions, for those who wish, may be made to the Ashland District School Memorial Scholarship, att: Mr. McHatten, P.O. Box 289, Ashland, Maine 04732-0289.
The family appreciates the caring work of Wallin Funeral Home and Cremation, Oak Harbor. With their help, Evelyn and Parker’s ashes will make their final journey home to their beloved Aroostook County, northern Maine beginnings.
