Heidi (von Unger) Coffin

Our mother Heidi Coffin passed away on the morning of July 31, 2022. In the Fall of 2021, doctors discovered that she had stage IV lung cancer. She navigated her treatments the way she led her life, with grace, positivity and a heart full of gratitude.

Heidi was born in Bielefeld, Germany to Friedrich-Hilmar von Unger and Hella von Borries. She was the youngest of five girls and was raised on a farm in North Rhine-Westphalia, surrounded by fields and forests. As a child, Heidi enjoyed horseback riding, fencing, dancing, singing, and being with family and friends. She left home to travel and study at the Medau School in Coburg, graduated in 1962, moved to the city of Soest where she became an instructor of physical education at the School for the Blind and went on to study physical therapy in Hamburg.

Heidi traveled extensively with friends to Croatia, Russia, Greece, Spain, Hawaii, Mexico and finally San Francisco in 1959 to be close to her sister and family. While in the Bay Area she worked as a physical therapist at Kaiser Hospital and joined the San Francisco Bach Choir where she met her future husband, Dr. Grange Coffin. They stayed in contact while Heidi finished her studies in Germany and after a long distance courtship of several years Heidi returned to California for good, to marry Grange in 1971. They made Berkeley their home, and raised three children together: Peter (b. 1972), Susanna (b. 1974) and Philip (b. 1978). The family made annual summer visits to Heidi's childhood home in Germany to spend time with her mother and stepfather, sisters and cousins.

Heidi was active in the community and admired for her bright smile and positive outlook. The family were longtime members of St. Clement's Episcopal Church in Berkeley. Heidi was involved in local cultural organizations including the German Exelsior Center and the University of California Section Club. She was an active leader in-and for a period the principal of-the German School of the East Bay, where children and adults learned German language, music and culture. She co-founded the German American School Association of Northern California and remained a longtime member. Heidi loved to organize festive gatherings including Saint Nikolaus parties that she hosted in the lead-up to Christmas. Many will remember seeing her walk through Berkeley with the family dog to run errands or on her favorite trails in Tilden Park.

Heidi nurtured friendships old and new, met with friends regularly, took care of her granddaughter, knit socks for the entire family, jogged with her dog, loved the outdoors, wrote long letters to friends and family abroad, enjoyed a good sense of humor and embodied a playful and generous spirit. She was a grounding person for many. In her final years Heidi cared for Grange, her husband of 50 years, before he passed away in January of this year.

Heidi Coffin is survived by her children Peter, Susanna, and Philip and grandchildren Isabel (b. 2013) and Leo (b. 2021); her stepchildren Bill, Priscilla, Hope, and John and her sisters Dorothea, Bärbel and Helke.

The Coffin family extends its gratitude to her nurse Anna and caregivers Phentok, Lobsang, Tenzin, and Kalsang, who provided compassionate care during the final months of Heidi's life. Donations in Heidi Coffin's memory can be made to the YMCA of the East Bay (www..ymcaeastbay.org/donate) or to the Children's Educational Development Society (www.cedsociety.org).

Published in East Bay Express · November 14, 2022