Richard Joseph Coogan Lt.Col, USMC Ret.

Richard Joseph Coogan “Dick”
Lt. Colonel U.S. Marine Corps (Ret.)
February 24, 1932 – June 17, 2023

Dick Coogan, 91, of McLean, VA, passed away peacefully on June 17, 2023 with his family at his side.

Born February 24, 1932, in Philadelphia, PA, he was the youngest of four children of John Joseph Coogan, Jr., and Ethel (Henry) Coogan. Dick graduated from St. Joseph’s College in 1954 with a degree in Marketing. While at St. Joe’s, he lettered in track and field, throwing the javelin, and was a featured Glee Club tenor soloist. Dick then entered the United States Marine Corps officer ranks as an honor graduate of the Officer Candidate School in Quantico, VA.

After his acceptance as a Regular Officer in 1958, he was transferred to the Marine Corps Ceremonial Barracks in Washington, DC where he met his future wife, the beautiful Mary (Mimi) Hubbard of Torrington, CT. Dick loved to tell the story of how they were introduced, and that as soon as he set eyes on her, he knew she was “the one”. They married in 1959 and welcomed their first child, Richard Christopher Coogan, a year later. Two daughters and three more sons followed in quick succession.

Dick’s overseas service included three tours in Vietnam, one as the Senior Artillery Advisor to the Vietnamese Marine Corps, and two with the US Navy as an Intelligence Specialist. Mimi and “the chillies” stayed stateside when he was overseas; a highlight for everyone in the family was making reel to reel tapes to send back and forth.

Dick was a member of the 1st Battalion 12th Marines (Artillery) in Okinawa, Japan, in 1956 and was privileged to command that same battalion in Hawaii from 1973 through 1975. His personal military decorations include the Bronze Star with Combat V, Meritorious Service Medal, Air Medal with Gold Star, Navy Commendation Medal with Combat V and one Star, Navy Achievement Medal with Combat V, and the Republic of Vietnam Cross of Gallantry with Silver Star.

His last five years of military service were as the Operations Officers of the Defense Intelligence Agency’s worldwide Current Intelligence Division and the Marine Corps Intelligence Division. These posts brought the family, who had traveled from the east coast to San Diego to Hawaii, back to settle in Northern Virginia. Dick retired with the rank of Lt. Colonel in 1978, although – once a Marine, always a Marine – he never retired the Marines’ values of honor, courage, and commitment.

Dick launched a successful second career as an Associate Broker in real estate, working together with Mimi for 30+ years with the Northern Virginia real estate firms of Shannon & Luchs and Weichert Realtors. The ping pong table in the lower level of their McLean Hamlet home was eventually removed to make room for desks and filing cabinets, and a second land line was installed so their business did not have to compete with their children’s (primarily Melanie’s) social lives.

Dick was increasingly involved with the McLean Hamlet Community Association, serving as an Officer and as the Chair of two committees. He led fights against the first “skyscrapers” in nearby Tyson’s Corner, and as Public Safety Committee Chair, he founded the community’s Neighborhood Watch Program, chairing it for six years. Also in the interest of safety, he taught all his children to drive a “stick shift” in his Datsun 240Z, nicknamed “the Zippy Z”!

Many hours and many miles in the station wagon were dedicated to family activities, particularly soccer and basketball. As basketball was his favored sport, Dick coached in the McLean Youth program; and many games of “HORSE” were played on the driveway of the family home. As a “Golden Hawk”, Dick was an enthusiastic supporter of St. Joseph’s University’s basketball team and was ever hopeful that his Hawks would make it to the championships!

Dick’s outside interests were many. He enjoyed running (slowly) over long distances, running the Inaugural Marine Corps Marathon in 1976, and beginning in his 60’s ran a half-marathon race every year, the last one at age 82. He won many of his age-division races, and never minded if the reason he won was because he was the only 80-year-old competing! He especially enjoyed having his children, their spouses, and grandchildren join him at races, whether to run or to cheer. Dick continued to fish, golf, and bowl well into his final decade and was still an active member of the CADS bowling league team at age 90.

A voracious reader who instilled a love of reading throughout his family, Dick always had a backlog of books on order at the Dolley Madison Library in McLean. He and Mimi were known to compete for books, both placing library holds on the same sought-after John Grisham or some other book that had gotten a good review in The Washington Post. Each morning, Dick would settle at the kitchen table with his coffee and breakfast, reading first the sports page then working his way through the rest of the paper (including the funnies and the obits). This effort required several important tools – a magnifying glass, a yellow highlighter, and post-it notes. He highlighted stories or simply phrases of interest to share with Mimi or anyone else who might happen by.

Dick’s lifelong love of music found many outlets. He had an extensive, eclectic collection of records, and later CDs. As a young Marine Lieutenant, he was typecast to play Lt. Joseph Cable in a local performance of South Pacific, joking that he didn’t even need to get a costume since he could just wear his uniform. He sang in church choirs and later, at home, lyrics from favorite songs. Dick played the Marine Corps Hymn on the piano every day, and was delighted to teach it to Mary, one of his young granddaughters.

While his wife Mimi was known for her love of flowers and Mardi Gras beads, Dick was better known for feeding squirrels in the backyard bird feeder aka squirrel feeder, and for his sweet tooth, especially M&M’s, cookies, and ice cream. He’d always tuck a few extra M&M’s in his pockets, just in case they were needed for later. Even more than sweets, Dick was dedicated to his daily martini. He and Mimi’s evening ritual included a careful and precise production of making the martini (gin & vermouth, shaken not stirred – although later he switched to stirred not shaken) and sitting together to watch the evening news while enjoying their cocktail.

Mimi, the love of his life, passed to eternal life in February 2023. After 63 years of a loving and adventurous marriage, Dick grieved her loss and missed her terribly. Now they are together again, for eternity.

Dick is survived by his children R. Christopher Coogan (Jan), Eileen S. Coogan (Bernie Moye), Melanie Coogan Bryan (Joel Bryan), Thomas L. Coogan (Dawn), John S. Coogan (Alison), and Robert Hubbard Coogan (Tanya). He also leaves behind ten grandchildren and a granddaughter-in-law, Sean (Maria) and Joey Coogan, James Boyle, Kaitlyn, Sarah and Tommy Bryan, Tallulah and Pearl Coogan, Mary and Bonnie Coogan, and a new great-granddaughter, Lillian Mary Coogan, as well as nieces and nephews.

The family will greet visitors on Wednesday, June 28 from 5 pm-7 pm at Money & King Funeral Home and Cremation Services, 171 W. Maple Ave., Vienna, VA. A Mass of Christian Burial will be held at St. Luke Catholic Church, 7001 Georgetown Pike, McLean, VA on Thursday, June 29 at 10 AM. At a later date, Dick will be in urned at Arlington National Cemetery along with Mimi.

In lieu of flowers, the family suggests memorial donations to the Dolley Madison Library, c/o Fairfax Library Foundation, 12000 Government Center Pkwy, Suite 329, Fairfax, VA 22035, www.fairfaxlibraryfoundation.org.

The Big D

SEMPER FI!

OOH RAH!

GO HAWKS!