Jerome Thomas Coe, 91, a
resident of the Jenner's Pond Retirement Community in West Grove since 1999,
died peacefully in his sleep on March 8. A successful chemical engineer and
business executive, he was also an avid competitive sailor for his entire life.
Born in Madison, Wisc., Jan. 2, 1921, to Jerome H. Coe and Helen Smith Coe, he
graduated from Madison West High School and attended Phillips Exeter Academy
for one year before entering the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. At MIT,
Jerry majored in chemical engineering and was a member of Chi Phi fraternity,
played varsity basketball, and was a four-year member of the sailing team. He
was elected president of the Class of 1942 during his junior and senior years
and was inducted into the honorary society Tau Beta Pi.
Hired by the General Electric Co., Jerry worked at its research laboratory in
Schenectady, N.Y., before joining the U.S. Navy during World War II. He served
in the Pacific Theater as a lieutenant junior grade aboard the destroyer USS
Bristol (DD857), where he was the ship's radar officer. Following the end of
hostilities, the Bristol was part of the U.S. fleet in Japanese waters,
anchoring in Tokyo Bay.
Jerry rejoined General Electric in 1945, where he helped lead the company into
chemical manufacturing, particularly silicones. He holds a U.S. patent for the
fluidized bed process for making silicone, a process that is still in use
worldwide. His career as a GE executive took him from Schenectady to Greenwich,
Conn., and to Troy, Mich., where he served as vice president in charge of the
Industrial Materials and Metallurgical Division of the company. The final years
of his career were spent in Greenwich, while he worked at GE's Fairfield,
Conn., headquarters. He retired in 1983.
Both during his working years and in retirement, Jerry owned and sailed a
variety of sailing craft, from E-scows designed for lakes to the 40-foot sloop
Indian Summer, which he sailed for many years from the family summer home in
Vineyard Haven, Mass. He was widely known as one of best racing skippers in New
England waters. His beloved wife, Elizabeth Muir Coe, whom he met and married
in Schenectady during World War II, was a longtime crewmember. Their three
children, Wendy, Jeff, and Roy, inherited his love of wind and water.
Jerry was author of two books. Unlikely Victory: How General Electric Succeeded
in the Chemical Business (Chemical Heritage Foundation/John Wylie) chronicled
the entry of GE into various chemical businesses, its successes and missteps,
and the subsequent withdrawal of the company from most of these enterprises.
His self-published My Sailing Life is a richly illustrated account of his
sailing experiences from childhood on Lake Mendota, Wis., to the racing and
cruising years aboard Indian Summer. Everyone who has ever been aboard a boat
with Jerry treasures this carefully researched account of more than 75 years of
sailing experience.
He was predeceased by his wife, Elizabeth "Peggie" Coe, and their
son, Roy Muir Coe. Survivors include daughter Wendy Coe Lott and her husband
Jeffrey Lott of Yorklyn, Del; son Jerome Muir "Jeff" Coe and his wife
Marianne Kah of Houston, Tex.; grandson Joseph Coe Lott and his wife Elizabeth
Healy of New York City; and grandson Michael Coe Lott, also of New York. He
will also be missed by his dear friend and companion, Dotty Philips of the
Jenner's Pond retirement community.
A memorial service will be held on Saturday, March 24, at 11 a.m. in the
theater of the Alison Building at Jenner's Pond, 2000 Greenbriar Lane, West
Grove, Pa., to be followed by a reception. Mr. Coe's remains will be interred
alongside those of his late wife at the First Congregational Church of Old
Greenwich, Conn. A service of thanksgiving for his life will be held at that
church on Saturday, April 28, at 11 a.m., followed by a reception.
In lieu of flowers, the family requests that memorial contributions be made to
the Union of Concerned Scientists, an independent, science-based nonprofit
working for a healthy environment and a safer world. Gifts may be addressed to
the UCS at Two Brattle Sq., Cambridge, MA 02138-3780 or made on the Web at www.ucsusa.org/memorial.
Arrangements by the Foulk & Grieco Funeral Home, West Grove.
Online
condolences may be made by visiting www.griecocares.com
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