"The Lord bless you and keep you; the Lord make his face shine upon you and be gracious to you; the Lord turn his face toward you and give you peace."Numbers 6:24-26While heavy-hearted, we are celebrating the entry of Emmett Bartlet Coon into the presence of Jesus. He died unexpectedly of a cardiac event on October 15, 2021 at his home in Helena, Montana. He was 63. Emmett was born in Butte, Montana on May 10,1958. Though he ALWAYS claimed it was Mother's Day, it was in fact a Saturday according to the Gregorian Calendar. Based on the position of the globe, it was indeed Mother's Day *somewhere* at the time of his birth, so we'll give him this one. He was the son of teachers Hollis and Barbara Coon and the first of 8 children. Stories Emmett told of growing up included many summers of haying and falls of hunting in the Big Hole Valley with siblings and cousins and all the big brother antics you might expect from a 60's child in Butte America. Emmett was a part of the Butte Civil Air Patrol where he realized he enjoyed the structure and procedure offered. As such, he joined the Air Force right after graduation from Butte High in 1976. He learned that structure existed, but holy criminy, was it different from CAP. Emmett spent his service at Sheppard, Travis, and Kadena Air Force Bases. After 4 years with the Air Force, Emmett decided to join the Army National Guard and attend college in his home state. He wound up studying at Northern Montana College (MSU-Northern as of 1994) in Harve, MT where he met his best friend, Glenn. The two played almost as hard as they studied, often pranking one another with elaborate and hilarious jokes. Being the personality that he was, Emmett found himself in a very tight-knit group of friends that included Anne Schmid, an aspiring teacher from Kansas who would turn out to be the love of his life. After many proposals, she finally agreed to marry the man. Better than that, the Lord used Anne to ensure His son knew Him; Emmett accepted Jesus into his heart in June and they were wed on September 15, 1984. In 1987ish, the couple decided to move to Colorado Springs, CO to be near Anne's family. So many joyful memories with brothers and sisters were made through their time there. After one adorable daughter, Gwendolyn A, was born in August 1990, and another delightful daughter, Domonique R, was born in December 1991, Emmett decided to move the family back to Montana to be near his folks. The young couple found themselves in Belgrade, MT with joyful daughter number three, Alexandra J, on the way in February 1996. That same year Emmett became an Instructor for Helena Vocational-Technical Center, which would go through many name changes only to have its Wikipedia page STILL HAVE THE OLD LOGO....... and become Helena College University of Montana. Emmett would spend 25 years there, teaching electronics, pc repair, networking, and diagnostics, but more importantly impacting the lives of his students for the better. The family relocated to Helena and in November 1997 their final cherished child, Wesley N, was born. Being in Montana allowed for Emmett to have more summers haying in the Big Hole (despite the terrible hayfever), hunting and fishing with his brothers, Thanksgivings with his folks in Butte, and as much adventuring as life with 4 kiddos would allow. Emmett retired from the National Guard after 20 years of service combined in 2000, the same year the family would move to their 10-Acre home on the north hills of Helena. Here is where Emmett and Anne would grow the kids, in a house filled with hard work, and laughter, and Jesus. Emmett had so many stories that could be told and things to be said about him. Between his mountain man-ing, fly tying, 4-H dad-ing, hunting, black-powder shooting, pranking, loving, teaching, and supporting, he had a full life. Anne says: "He loved Jesus as his savior and was a mighty man of God. He loved me so much and took good care of his family. Emmett was like a stick of dynamite: he didn't say much but when he did he exploded the room. I want to say so much about him- I want the world to know him the way I knew him." Gwendolyn says: "Dad was always off and adventuring with something, even if he was just at home. His love of history or his mountain man stuff- every time he was working on sewing a patch or adding a button, he was actually exploring the frontier. He challenged me in my thoughts and actions and always made sure that, even if we were in disagreement, I was doing it for the right reasons: loving God and loving people." Domonique says: "April Fools Day isn't really a holiday to anybody... except for my dad; that was his favorite holiday. From putting up 'locked door' signs (on doors that everyone had keys to get in) to making it look like mice were taking over the office (using rice and a match) and everything else in between. Dad just enjoyed making the perfect prank. He always did. He would laugh and laugh for months waiting to put his plan into action. Once the day was gone, he would start planning for the next year. He would give a pop quiz (about all the kinds of soda) and just laugh as his students panicked. It was always a day to remember and keep on your toes! "Keep God in the center of your life and your relationship, and you'll be alright."Alexandra says: "My dad was the most loving, stubborn, funny and supportive person in my life. He never missed a dad joke and was always there to watch a movie or just listen about the day itself. He was the best teacher and mentor I could ever ask for in a lifetime. I am so thankful for the 25 1/2 years I got with my dad and I will forever miss him..... What do you call twin police officers?????? Copies"Wesley says: "My dad was different, he never had just one hobby and enjoyed diversifying how he spent his time. He split his time among family, friends, hobbies, personal and work. He was never too busy to help you out or just be there to listen. With his extensive hobbies came a wealth of knowledge which he was always eager to share. He was both very creative and methodical in his projects and loved every aspect from planning through completion. There are so many things I want to say about him but if I did it would be a book. You never know what you have until it's gone."Emmett left behind his adoring family: wife, Anne Coon; daughters, Gwendolyn Coon, Domonique (Skyler) Mitchell, Alexandra (Harold) Johnson, and son, Wesley Coon; Mother, Barbara Coon; brothers Daniel Coon, Leon Coon, Edwin Coon, Timothy Coon and spouses; sisters Marcia Lubick, Melanie Makin, Barbara Carlson and spouses; and numerous cousins, uncles, aunts, in-laws, nieces, nephews, friends, and one ticked-off cat.Services will be held at 11 AM on Saturday, October 30 at Last Chance Chapel (6240 Raven Rd, Helena MT 59602) with a reception to follow. Donations should be sent to Missionaries to Marriages (missionaries2marriages.com/donate.html ) and A21 - Our Mission to End Human Trafficking (a21.org) on his behalf: both ministries held special places in his heart.