Grange Coffin

1923 - 2022

Dr. Grange S. Coffin
January 18, 1923 - January 4, 2022
Dr. Grange Simons Coffin passed away in peace and comfort at home in Berkeley, surrounded by family, and just shy of his 99th birthday.

Grange Coffin was born in Kinston, North Carolina, on January 18th, 1923, to Reverend Francis J.H. Coffin and Annie Roulhac Coffin. He and his siblings, Francis and Anne, grew up in Larchmont, New York, where their mother was a school teacher and their father was the pastor of St. John's Episcopal Church. He developed life-long interests in tennis, music and the outdoors. After graduating from Yale University in 1943 he earned his medical degree from Columbia University in 1947.

Grange married Ann Casselberry in 1949, and they had four children: William, Priscilla, Hope, and John. He completed a fellowship in bacteriology at the University of Chicago and then served as a doctor in the US Air Force while stationed in Lake Charles, Louisiana. He returned to Baltimore with his family, where he completed his residency in pediatrics at Johns Hopkins, and continued teaching and conducting research at the University of Maryland.

In 1962 he moved to Berkeley, California to be close to his children. He worked as an Associate Professor of Pediatrics at UCSF from 1963 to 1990 and as a pediatrician at the Sonoma Developmental Center from 1962 to 1996. During this time he also maintained a private practice at his office on Telegraph and Ashby in South Berkeley, frequently working evenings and weekends.

In 1964, Grange met Heidi von Unger while the two were singing in the San Francisco Bach Choir. After she returned to Germany, they exchanged love letters for five years and reunited in Berkeley to marry in 1971. They had three children together: Peter, Susanna, and Philip. Grange took German lessons, endeared himself to Heidi's family and enjoyed annual summer trips to Heidi's childhood home.

Dr. Coffin's career was highlighted by a variety of accomplishments. As a medical researcher, Dr. Coffin authored nearly fifty articles in a variety of medical journals. In 1962, he discovered a synthesis of drugs that is highly effective in treating bacterial infections. It was later adapted and marketed as Bactrim and designated by the World Health Organization as an 'Essential Medicine.' He served as a volunteer doctor in the city of Can Tho, Vietnam, for several challenging months during the war. Dr. Coffin was internationally recognized for his work discovering and describing the Coffin-Siris Syndrome and the Coffin-Lowry Syndrome. He was known for advocating for patients' rights and often provided free care to families with limited means. Families remember the friendly doctor with the worn leather bag arriving at their homes at all hours in his yellow VW station wagon to treat patients and make them smile with his magic tricks.

After a long career, Grange retired at age 73. He continued his medical research and his correspondences with colleagues and with the families of Coffin-Siris Syndrome and Coffin-Lowry Syndrome patients.

Dr. Coffin enjoyed singing, birdwatching, playing classical piano, and walking in Tilden Regional Park. He loved the outdoors. Favorite places that he would take his family to included Spurr's in Massachusetts, Fort Cronkhite beach in Marin County, Kings Canyon National Park, the Monarch Butterfly Sanctuary in Pacific Grove, Yosemite, and Berkeley Tuolumne Camp. He attended St. Clement's Episcopal Church in Berkeley for 50 years and later also joined the Quaker Berkeley Friends Church.

He liked to read the Bible, Shakespeare, Agatha Christie, Dickens, the SF Chronicle, and classic children's books. In his final years his family read to him; his favorites were The Wind in the Willows and Winnie the Pooh. He maintained his sense of humor until the very end.

Dr. Grange Coffin is survived by his wife Heidi, his children William (b.1950), Priscilla (b.1952), Hope (b.1954), John (b.1956), Peter (b.1972), Susanna (b.1974), Philip (b.1978) and his grandchildren Isabel (b. 2013) and Leo (b.2021).

The Coffin family extends its gratitude to his caregivers, Tsering, Sangyal, Tenzin, and Phuntok, who provided compassionate care during his final 18 months. Donations in Dr. Coffin's memory can be made to the Coffin-Siris Syndrome Foundation (www.coffinsiris.org) or to the Coffin-Lowry Syndrome Foundation (www.clsf.info).