Carlos Weldon Coon Jr.
12/29/1938 - 12/20/2023

Carlos Weldon Coon, Jr. of Fredericksburg, Texas, passed away at home on Wednesday, December 20, 2023, at the age of 84. He is survived by his wife Nancy Reams Coon, his sons Malcolm Coon of San Antonio and Michael Coon and Michael’s wife, Christine Robinson Coon, of Colorado Springs and Michael’s children, Collin Coon and Aiden Coon, and his brother and sister-in-law, Sanford and Mary Ellen Coon of Albuquerque, New Mexico.

Carlos was born on December 29, 1938 to Carlos and Dionitia Downs Coon in San Antonio, Texas and graduated from Northside High School (now Marshall High School). He attended Texas Tech University in Lubbock where he received both a Bachelor of Science degree and Masters degree in Mechanical Engineering. He met his wife Nancy her freshman year at Tech. They married three years later, in 1960, while both were still students. After his graduation, Carlos taught engineering at Tech for two years. In 1964, the family, including their one-year-old son, moved to Tucson Arizona, where Carlos attended the University of Arizona and received his PhD in Mechanical Engineering in 1968. While in Arizona, their second son, Michael, was born.

Carlos taught at Southern Methodist University in Dallas for five years and supervised the SMU student team that took part in a nationwide Clean Air Car Race that ran from MIT in Boston to Caltech in Pasadena, California. He worked at NASA for one summer in 1972 and co-authored a design plan for a lunar colony. He maintained a life-long interest in astronomy and the space program.

In 1973, he and Nancy moved their family to Fredericksburg and began remodeling an old farmhouse which, over the years, has allowed Carlos to demonstrate his skill in plumbing, electrical work, and structural engineering (who needs that supporting wall?). While living in Fredericksburg, Carlos commuted to San Antonio where he worked for Southwest Research Institute, specializing in gasoline engine research, for seven years before starting his own firm as a consulting engineer. The family was active in the Methodist Church in Fredericksburg where Carlos taught Sunday School for several years.

Carlos and Nancy owned a home near Breckenridge, Colorado, for many years, where the whole family spent winter and summer vacations. Carlos loved being in the mountains. He climbed several 14ers with his sons and grandsons and navigated their jeep over some of the worst roads in the state, including Mosquito Pass. His wife Nancy remembers Carlos was “in his element” when traveling. Whether it was the mountains of Colorado or the back roads of Ireland, Carlos loved to travel with family and friends. He also loved growing plants, puttering around in his greenhouse and walking his dogs.

Carlos was a soft-spoken and very intelligent man. His sense of humor was quiet but insightful. His close friends and family treasured their time with him. There will be a celebration of his life at a later date.

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