Robert "Bob" Leonard Coon
, Vermont
Robert Leonard Coon,101, known as “Bob,” lifelong resident of St. Albans, VT, died peacefully at McClure Miller Respite House, Colchester. Bob was the second of sixteen children born to Henry Stephen Coon and Gertrude Matilda Cross Coon.Bob attended the St. Albans Bay School and Bellows Free Academy. Gertrude and Henry instilled a strong work ethic during the Great Depression and Bob recalled picking beans as his first job for five cents per day. He described working as a teen at the creamery, making cottage cheese, and later he especially enjoyed making potato chips for Mr. Ralston’s small business.WWII was a turning point for Bob; the bombing of Pearl Harbor occurred before he was 18, so Bob joined the Vermont State Guard until he could enlist in the US Army. By age 19, in 1944, Bob had volunteered to be a paratrooper. In the 101st Airborne Division, he was deployed with the European Theater. As soldier he carried his…