Robert Coe

Robert "Bob" Coe died on February 5, 2024, after a short illness in Bethesda, Maryland. He was born to David and Emma Coe on December 26, 1935, in Marlboro, Massachusetts, and attended Fay and St. Mark's schools. He earned a B.A. in European history from Princeton (1957), a master's in teaching from Wesleyan (1959), a master's in history from Columbia (1962) and a master's in economics from Harvard (1975). A career Foreign Service officer, he was posted to Bolivia, Ghana, Chile, and India. After retirement, he was active in a number of organizations, including Bethesda Help, the American Civil Liberties Union, and the Nature Conservancy. He also taught 49 courses at the Osher Lifelong Learning Institute at American University. He was an ardent hiker, tennis player, and swimmer. We say goodbye to a kind and gentle scholar, teacher, friend, husband, and father. He is survived by his wife Jane, daughters Cati (Cheryl Shipman) and Cindy (Matt Altman), grandchildren Lucy and Sam Altman-Coe, brother Peter (Bev) Coe, nephews David (Wayne) and Justin (Lindsey) Coe, and niece Kirsten (Molly) Kryder Coe. He was predeceased by his parents, brother John Coe, and sister-in-law Julee Kryder Coe. Celebrations of life will be held March 2 at 2 p.m. at River Road Unitarian Universalist Church in Bethesda, and in the summer in Massachusetts.