James E. Coufal

Jim was a special part of my Ranger School experience, as the director and a professor, he cared about us students and I learned a lot of values from him!! I will not forget him taking me to the Star Lake medical center during a snowstorm, when I fell and dislocated my thumb. Later he became a good friend, as we saw each other at the RS Alumni Reunions. So glad I got to visit with him and Carol at our 45th reunion!! He will be missed, especially by our RS Class of 79!!
Prayers and condolences to Carol and the family!! Love, JoAnn Bennett (Charbonneau)

The world has lost a wonderful person, a dedicated teacher, a leader in professional forestry, and an insightful thinker. I am very grateful to have been one of his students, and even more grateful for the chance in later years to get to know him as a friend and colleague. I just wish I had realized earlier that the door to the Director´s office was open, I just needed to knock. (I thank Diane Bliss and Kathy Greenwald Smith for encouraging me to finally knock!)
What I have learned in those later conversations, and in reading some of Jim´s writing, was just how progressive he was in his thinking about people and forests. Through his work at the Ranger School, ESF, the Society of American Foresters, and by publishing articles, his insights have reached many, many people. Among those he reached, I was very fortunate in that I had the privilege of speaking to him directly over the course of years, just not often enough in person. What I appreciated most in those conversations, and reading his articles, was that despite his vast knowledge, he remained a seeker after a better understanding of the whole. I will miss sharing that search with him. I hope it is some comfort for you and your family to hear from another person about how much his work and thinking have inspired students and those who care about forests.
Sincerely yours, Kevin Bishop.
Ranger School Class of `79

A deep personal loss - have known Jim for decades. - he at the College of Forestry (ESF) and me as bookstore employee and later Caz neighbor along with his wife Carol. We shared so much about the outdoors, animals, books, trees and more. Our book club and coffee shop get togethers - terribly missed. Such a truly good and wonderful person. I do believe that he wrote much of his obit! I ache with loss and think of his family, his contributions and many friends.

Condolences to the Coufal family. I remember speaking with Jim, (Mr. Coufal back then in 1981) prior to attending the Ranger School. His message was stern and sobering. You better have it to get and be comply committed to this experience if you plan to graduate this institution, or something along these lines. It is because of Jim and those like him at The Ranger School in Wanakena that I was able to have a long and rewarding career with the NYS Forest Rangers. Thanks Jim! Happy trails on the other side!

I considered Jim Coufal a friend and colleague when he and I worked at the Ranger School. He was my director when I was a Class of 1979 student, and I continued to work with him when I was hired as a Forest Properties Management Technician. Jim was instrumental in my becoming a Red Cross course instructor after the fall incident at the Ranger School's Cathedral Rock back in 1983. He asked that I teach that class to all incoming students of each new class. I continue to instruct that class to this day thanks to Jim's foresight. He was an outstanding orator and a prolific writer of all thing's forestry related. His shining light will be sorely missed. Rest in Peace, the friend of all who knew him.

I live in Tennessee, but my family still lives in Utica. I read about Mr. Coufal`s passing this morning. At first I started to giggle because I realized it was written by Mr. Coufal himself. At least that is how it seems as I continue to read all the way through. I just want to say as a kid I used to read Ranger Rick! I had no idea it was your family member behind all that writing. How fabulous and what great memories you all must have. Blessings on you.

While I was a student at the NYS Ranger School (Class of 1979), Jim realized my career plans actually included becoming an educator and a writer. Despite being the Director of this premier forestry school, he began placing articles from the Chronicle of Higher Education in my mailbox cubby hole with a sticky note saying "What are your thoughts on this?" Those notes led to more philosophical discussions about higher education, values, environmental ethics and critical thinking in the midst of the intense challenges of the Ranger School's technical curriculum. It also led to recognizing a shared love of literature. Jim's effort to reach out to my other interests resulted in a lifetime friendship. We have kept in touch over the last 46 years. My lasting memory of him is the last reunion we both attended, where we decided to give a reading of our poems, mostly about nature. His love not just of the natural world and the school, but also of his students was so evident. And he articulated how much we students impacted his life and approach to both forestry and teaching over the years. How much he also influenced so many of us!

Carol, Laura and Eric, please accept my sincerest condolences. And Carol and Laura, thank you so much for the one last visit with Jim.

Carol,
The world has lost a good soul. I am so sorry for your loss.