Death of Pfc. James Coon was too much for step-mom

Two years after the death of her step-son, Marie Coon committed suicide unable to overcome the grief of his death. When we think about the fallen, especially as we did this past weekend for Memorial Day ceremonies around the nation, we need to also acknowledge the families of the fallen. We remember the sacrifices once a year, but they remember them everyday and every year.

Stepmother's grief over Iraq death leads to suicide
By Theresa Harrington
Contra Costa Times
Posted: 05/25/2009 01:45:51 PM PDT

WALNUT CREEK — Marie Coon is an Iraq war casualty. But not in the traditional sense.

Her stepson's fatal injuries from a sniper attack in Iraq in 2007 ended up causing two deaths — his and hers.

"She was having a hard time dealing with Jimmy's death," her husband, Jim Coon said Friday. "She just kept saying how she missed Jimmy."

On Mother's Day — after struggling for more than two years to cope with the loss of the young man she loved as her son — Marie committed suicide by locking herself in the cab of a pickup truck at Lake Arrowhead with portable lighted barbecues and a pail of burning coals. She left a note, saying she wanted to be with Jimmy. She was 48.


"I'm just walking around pretty much in a daze," said Jim, 51, who moved with his wife about a year ago from Walnut Creek to Paradise in Northern California. "I'm hoping that she's in heaven. I'm hoping she's with Jimmy. If she's not, I hope she's having a great life wherever she is. I never wanted to see her get hurt."

Jim said he planned to attend Walnut Creek's Memorial Day service Monday with his daughter and brother, to honor his son Army Pfc. James Coon and Cpl. Sean Langevin. Both were Walnut Creek soldiers who died in Middle East conflicts.
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Pfc. James J. Coon 22 1st Battalion, 8th Cavalry Regiment, 2nd Brigade, 1st Cavalry Division Walnut Creek, California Died of wounds suffered when a roadside bomb detonated near his vehicle in Balad, Iraq, on April 4, 2007