MARK THOMAS COUGHLIN

1949 - 2009

Mark Thomas Coughlin, of La Conner, passed away in his home on Wednesday, September 23, 2009. He was 60 years old, a brilliant and beloved brother, husband, father, and grandfather.

Mark was born on January 28, 1949, in San Bernardino, California, to Donald and Marie Coughlin. He spent his childhood in San Bernardino, where he was a graduate of Pacific High School. He attended University of San Diego and San Bernardino Valley College, where he majored in art. He also studied at Brooks Institute of Photography. Mark later studied theology at San Bernardino Bible College where he met Talona Morris, with whom he fell in love, marrying her in 1974. This year, he and Talona celebrated 35 years of marriage.

A hard working and ethical man, Mark worked as a technician for most of his career, with Sears and later Pacific Mariner. He was an entrepreneur and created Coughlin's Appliance Service in the 1980s and in 2008 Coughlin's Creations, a source for his own handmade wood and metal crafts.

In 1989, Mark moved his wife and four children from San Bernardino to La Conner to start a new life in rural Western Washington. His vision was to give his family acreage on which to explore and discover. He took up fishing, beachcombing, and bumbling around his property, fashioning his heaven on earth, "the lake" where he swam and farmed trout.

In his spare time, Mark was a woodworker, an astronomer, an inventor, a fly fisherman, a theologian, and a horse for his grandchildren.

A lover of God and all His creation, Mark ministered to troubled youth, juvenile inmates, his coworkers, his family, and countless strangers in whom he saw great value. His message was simple: God is Love.

Mark is survived by his wife, Talona Coughlin and his children, Shannon and her husband Ethan D'Onofrio of Bellingham, WA; Rachel and her husband Brandon Johnson of Bonney Lake, WA; Matthew and his wife Letha Coughlin of Victorville, CA; and Hannah of Stuttgart, Germany. His legacy of faith and hope will live on in his children, as well as in the lives of his much beloved grandchildren, Anali and Asher Johnson.

The family will be having a private celebration of his life next week.

In closing, we'd like to pass on a hallmark of Mark's life: "May the Lord bless you, and keep you; may the Lord make His face shine on you, and be gracious to you; may the Lord lift up His countenance upon you, and give you peace."