Allene (Ruff) Coffin of Ponca City, Oklahoma, died Friday, June 18, 2010, in the Ponca City Medical Center at the age of 83 years.

Allene (Ruff) Coffin was born on February 7, 1927, in Rudy, Arkansas, to Simon Peter and Callie Orland (Freeman) Ruff. As a child, her family resided in Sasakwa and Seminole, Oklahoma. In 1943, her family settled in Hayward, California, where she attended high school and her parents worked in the shipyard during the war. In 1951, she attended college at Bible Institute of Los Angeles where she met her lifelong partner Gerald Hutton Coffin. They were married in Yuma, Arizona, on March 21, 1952.

Allene and Gerald made their first home in Los Angeles and continued to live in California until the couple moved to Hays, Kansas, in 1956. Allene had a thirst for education and received an English/Teaching degree from Fort Hays State University in 1966. She taught high school English and Literature in Herndon, Kansas, in 1967, Derby, Kansas, from 1968-1980, and Agra, Kansas, from 1981 – 1992.

Allene was family-loving, kind and sincere. She was a devoted wife, mother and friend to many. As a girl, she loved riding horses. She was an avid reader and enjoyed sewing and knitting. Music was a large part of her life and she played the piano from a very early age. Her greatest passion was researching family genealogy, tracing family lineage back thirteen generations.

She is survived by her husband, Gerald Hutton Coffin of Ponca City, Oklahoma; a brother, Simon Peter Ruff Jr. and wife Pat of Quincy, Washington; a daughter, Debbie Richard and husband Ron of Escondido, California; a son, Dale Coffin and wife Lana of Ponca City, Oklahoma; seven grandchildren, Brenn and Luke Richard of Escondido, California, Hannah and Abigail Coffin Roush of Wichita, Kansas, and Evan, Erin and Elisha Coffin of Blackwell, Oklahoma. Allene is also survived by numerous nieces, nephews and cousins.

She was preceded in death by her parents; one brother, Frank Ruff; and her eldest son, David Bruce Coffin.

A memorial service will be planned at a future date.

In lieu of flowers, the family request that donations be made in her honor to Hospice of North Central Oklahoma in c/o Roberts and Son Funeral Home, 120 W. Padon, Blackwell, Oklahoma 74631.