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Everyone’s Favorite Partner
He was fond of saying he had come to town on a load of turnips. He played the country bumpkin to amuse the rest of us when people underestimated him the first and only time. Bridge has lost another good one, my dear friend and partner, Jon Coffee.
Jon passed away on November 19th at the age of 73 after a long and courageous battle with cancer. He leaves his wife, Judy Pelham, 5 children, 3 step children, 14 grandchildren and many bridge players who considered him to be their favorite partner.
Jon and Judy moved to Scottsdale a few years ago after a 20 year stretch in the Detroit area, but Jon spent most of his adult life in Texas practicing law. Long considered by his peers, clients and the judiciary as one of the premier attorneys in America, in 2009 Jon Coffee was honored as the first and only attorney admitted to the Austin Bar Association Family Law Section’s Hall of Fame.
Jon was among the first lawyers in the State of Texas to become a Certified Specialist in Family, was listed in Best Lawyers In America and had a Texas-sized personality and stature that dominated courtrooms throughout Central Texas for years.
Jon received his BBA in 1957 from the University of Texas and his LLB in 1960 from the University of Texas Law School.
Jon was the President of the Travis County Bar Association from 1983-1984, President of the Texas Academy of Family Law Specialists from 1981-1982, President of the Family Law Section of the Travis County Bar Association from 1982-1983, a past Director of the State Bar of Texas, a member of the American Bar Association, the American Trial Lawyers Association, the Texas Trial Lawyers Association, the American Judicature Society, a Fellow of the Texas Bar Foundation, and a frequent lecturer and author for Texas continuing legal education programs.
Jon personally mentored and trained a significant number of young lawyers who went on to become Family Law Specialists and District Judges and was universally recognized as the Dean of Family Law Specialists in Travis County.
Jon was a gold life master, a fearless player, not averse to taking a flyer now and then. When he did something a little too courageous, his Michigan partners were fond of saying, “what can you expect from someone who loves to go to the casino as much as Jon does?” He made bridge a pleasure for his partners and opponents alike, and although fiercely competitive, he never lost sight of the fact that people mattered more than masterpoints.
I never got to see him in the courtroom, but can only imagine him winning jurors’ hearts the way he won ours. He gave up providing legal services to high profile clients in Austin, Texas to take care of Judy’s children so that she could pursue her career in hospital administration. Not many men of his generation would have traded wowing juries for wiping noses. He was an incredible human being.
I’ve never met a more astute judge of character than Jon. His advice to me on all manner of things from raising a teenage daughter to making and breaking bridge partnerships was always letter perfect. He was wise, compassionate and and a most loyal friend. How I wish we could have had him in our lives just a little longer. I, along with so many others, will miss him terribly
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