Don Coen – November 24, 1935 – September 23, 2025

DON COEN OBITUARY ~

Donald Wayne Coen transitioned to the other side Tuesday, September 23rd, in his beautiful house, surrounded by the family that loved him so deeply. His transition and send-off were as peaceful, magical, and love-filled as we could have ever hoped for. He was two months shy of turning 90, which he was so excited to reach. For those who knew Don, you know he loved life like no other. He was known as a wonderful and devoted husband, father, and friend, with a big heart. He was generous, kind, protective, strong, funny, a bit eccentric, and a profound artist who captured the spirit of the American West.

He was unstoppable and was always busy living life and doing what he loved — loving and supporting his family, friends, and even strangers, creating beautiful and prolific art collected by top museums and art collectors around the world, cracking jokes with a side-eye, riding his bike, going to the gym, golfing, and working on his koi pond.
He was passionate about giving monthly to animal and veterans’ causes and loved helping people who needed a hand loading their groceries at King Soopers.

From a very early age, Don saw the landscape differently. He often said that others weren’t taught or didn’t take the time to truly see and connect with the land. I don’t think anyone saw a tumbleweed, a barbed wire fence, a dirt road, or a telephone pole the way he did. It was just very special. He saw all animals and critters in his own way — a cow, a horse, a pig, a fish. Don saw and felt the spirit of the land and all who lived within it.

He saw the same in people, in plants, in ravines, rivers, and lakes. It all spoke to him. When he took photographs, it wasn’t to document, it was to hold a feeling — the feeling of spirit and soul that he experienced when he first saw them. Later, at home, he would sit with those photographs and pick the one that best spoke to that feeling — the dirt road, the field, the old pickup truck, the light on all objects, the dog, the water, and the land. Then he’d project and lightly sketch it with pencil. He would begin to
paint it on the canvas hanging on the wall, and with each stroke it would start to come to life. Sometimes he painted people — his cowboy dad, the farm workers, family, friends, and of course, many migrant farm workers across the country, that became his Migrant Worker Collection. Again, he was painting what he saw inside them — life force, source energy. He saw God. He saw life itself.

He would sit alone in his studio, sometimes with our one-eyed dog Ringo on his lap, and he would paint. He would paint their spirit over and over, layer by layer, stroke by stroke, until the spirit was fully there, until it lived on the canvas. He would sit with it for hours, for days. That was where he felt love, where he felt the divine — in that space between himself and what he was painting. When the spirit finally emerged, he would share it. That was the part he loved most — to let others see what he had seen, to offer that glimpse of the beauty, the honesty, the sacredness of life. That was his connection. That was his way of loving. He shared it with the world and with those who were lucky enough to see it. And while he loved sharing it, what he loved most was connecting with it as it emerged. The world is brighter because he shared it.

Don was born in Lamar, Colorado, on November 24th, 1935 (or as he loved to tell everyone — 1835, with a chuckle), to Seth and Helen Coen, with his big brother Cleo. He always said how blessed his life had been, that he’d had the best childhood with loving and supportive parents. He loved growing up and working on their beautiful 600-acre southeastern Colorado farm, with his deep love for the land, animals, friends, and family. He slept outside on the covered porch of their one-bedroom house and
loved it. He would wake at sunrise to feed the cattle and collect the eggs before riding his horse to his one-room country schoolhouse. His parents and the farm taught him the discipline that stayed with him throughout his life in all that he did. He spoke his truth, was good for his word, and his handshake meant everything. He did what it took, no matter how difficult it was, with deep dedication and unstoppable drive. Sitting at the kitchen table as a young child, he had an unusual ability to draw the land, people, and animals he loved. His farmer parents didn’t know much about art or where this adult-like talent came from but encouraged him to keep drawing. In high school, this led him to receive an art scholarship for college in Denver.

In 1957 he met his future wife of 68 years, Frances Coen. They enjoyed five years as newlyweds before having their first child, Tanya Leigh, followed by Shane Allen two years later, and seven years after that, their youngest, Cord Dallas. He attended Lamar High School from 1949 to 1953. He went to Lamar Jr. College for two years before going to Denver University on an art scholarship. While attending D.U., he entered the Denver Art Museum’s “Own Your Own” contest. He was the youngest person (22) to win the contest with a bronze sculpture of a buffalo, which became the first of many pieces that the Denver Art Museum would include in its permanent collection.

After one year working at Martin Marietta, he attended the University of Northern Colorado in Greeley, where he received his Master’s degree. He then taught art at Aurora Jr. High before transferring to Boulder, where he was the Chairman of the Fine Arts Department at Boulder High School. From there, he went to Red Rocks Community College as the Department Chairman of Fine Arts for approximately 20 years. During those years of teaching, he continued to paint in his home studio. Much of his art is in permanent museum collections around the U.S., including the Denver Art Museum and numerous private collections. He continued to enter many art shows and garnered many awards for his work. He completed three major art series. The first was the abstract Symbolist Space series, inspired by seeing the film 2001: A Space Odyssey. Then
came the Contemporary Rural America series, followed by the Migrant Series – up-close and personal paintings of migrant farm workers, based on photos he took while traveling the country. The last two series both toured throughout the country in prominent art museums.

In his later years, the unstoppable love and support he exuded were the threads through Don’s life – through the easy, the hard, the beautiful, the painful, and the profound.
What a magnificent gift this is. What an incredible legacy to leave. What a job well done on the things that matter most.