Irman F. Coker

Irman F. Coker, 89, of Pampa, died Sunday, January 18, 2015 in Pampa. Services will be at 2:00 PM Wednesday, Jan. 21, 2015, at the First Christian Church with Rev. Dr. Jeff Knighton, pastor, and Nancy Ruff, commissioned ruling elder of First Presbyterian Church, officiating. Burial will be in Memory Gardens Cemetery with military honors by the U. S. Navy. Masonic graveside rites will be courtesy of Pampa Masonic Lodge #966. Arrangements are by Carmichael-Whatley Funeral Directors. Mr. Coker was born October 7, 1925 in Coodys Bluff, Oklahoma, where he was a registered Cherokee Indian. Irman was a veteran of the U.S. Navy serving during WWII where he was involved in the Battle of Saipan, Battle of Guam, Battle of Leyle Gulf, Battle of Luzon and the Battle of Iwo Jima. He has been a resident of Pampa since 1984, moving from Carson, California. Irman married Jo Ann Cooper on September 26, 1947 in Pampa. He worked for American Bridge and Iron Co. from 1953-1967 and then worked for Johns-Manville as a truck driver from 1967 until his retirement in 1982. He was a member of First Christian Church and the Pampa Masonic Lodge #966 AF&AM. Irman was preceded in death by his parents, William Walter Coker and Myrtle Estes Long; four sisters, Claudia Andrews, Almeda Varchetto, Bessie Munsinger, and Viola Coker; two brothers, Harold Coker and Victor Coker; and three half-sisters, Ella Hendrickson, Alma Fry and Minnie Fry. Survivors include his wife, Jo Ann Coker of the home; two daughters, Elizabeth Petka and Joyce Baumgardner, both of Pampa; a sister, Violet Uttermark of Sebeka, Minnesota; four grandchildren, seven great-grandchildren, and eight great-great grandchildren. Memorials may be made to St. Joseph Indian School, PO Box 326, Chamberlain, South Dakota 57326.