Michael Jay Coan

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University of Maine

Michael Coan Obituary

Michael Jay Coan

Bangor, ME - Michael Jay Coan, age 64, formerly of Sioux Falls, passed away on August 7, 2019 in Bangor, Maine. He was born in Glen Ridge, New Jersey and lived in Columbia Falls, Maine. Mike attended public schools in Caldwell, Riverton, and Moorestown, NJ, Chelmsford, MA and Lincoln, ME. He completed a Bachelor of Science (Surveying Engineering, 1994) and a Master of Science in Spatial Information Science and Engineering (1996) both at the University of Maine, Orono. His surveying work was in Maine, Massachusetts (the subway system in Boston), Alaska, North Dakota, Australia, and New Zealand. He worked for Martin Marietta Corporation, and later was a senior scientist conducting government research in the U.S. and Africa through the US Geological Survey and Raytheon Corporation in Sioux Falls. He published peer review research in satellite technology applications. In one of his favorite projects he used geographical positioning system technology to help resolve longstanding boundary disputes between coffee growers in Ethiopia.

Mike had many adventures. Recently he retired to Columbia Falls, Maine with plans to develop an orchard. He was predeceased by his parents Edward M. and Barbara Smith Coan, and by his special friend Pam. He is survived by his siblings and their families: Alison Coan Dibble (Keith) of Brooklin, ME, Edward J. Coan (Kiyoko) of Kapaa, HI, Annette B. Coan of Yonkers, NY, and Susan E. Coan (John McIntyre) of Lihue, HI, nephew Norman E. Dibble of Hood River, OR, and niece Claire A. Dibble (husband Mike Taylor) of Golden, B.C., Canada. He is also survived by his uncle and aunt, James and Marie Smith of Newtown, CT, and many maternal and paternal cousins and their offspring in the U.S. and Ireland.

Mike had a lifelong interest in wildlife, and observed platypus in the wild in Tasmania. His passion was for the outdoors, especially remote wilderness. He will be missed for his stories, his wry humor, and his generosity.

To plant trees in memory, please visit the Sympathy Store.

Published by Argus Leader on Sep. 29, 2019.

Memories and Condolences
for Michael Coan

3 Entries

Susan Coan

October 5, 2019

Mike was my big brother. He visited about a year ago to say goodbye to our Mom, who passed on a week after the visit. Afterwards, out of the blue he sent me a coffee maker of a certain type that he enjoyed, and called several times to share his passion for really good coffee. I learned a lot from him and about him during that visit and in those phone calls. He definitely enjoyed his fieldwork, having shared some of those stories with family members. It feels good to hear that his coworkers enjoyed and appreciated him as well!

Chuck Larson

September 30, 2019

I am so sorry to hear of Mike's passing. We worked together at USGS EROS on a variety of projects including land cover mapping, fire science and GIS applications for a number of years. Mike was a rare talent and I was fortunate to be able to coax him back to EROS after he had ventured into private contracting for a period of time. Mike was respected by his peers for his technical expertise and his ability to provide successful solutions to challenging science problems. He was one of the go-to-guys for EROS science and he made a mark during his time with us. I will miss him, I always considered him to be a friend.

Greg Stensaas

September 30, 2019

I am sorry to here of Mike's passing. Mike was a fun guy to work with, he always had an interesting story of something related to field work! Mike did many science projects and associated field work and surveying for USGS Earth Resource Observation and Science (EROS) Center - https://www.usgs.gov/centers/eros.
He supported digital camera calibration and remote sensing satellite systems assessment by surveying for ground control and assessing against the systems imagery. He also did many land cover and land use change studies with Landsat satellite type data sets.

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