Mary Jane Coker

Mary Jane Coker, 76, of Terre Haute, passed away on Saturday, February 28, 2026. Born in Terre Haute on June 12, 1949, to Gertrude Vollmuth Coker and Charles M. Coker, she grew up with a deep sense of community and service that would define her life.

A licensed social worker, Mary Jane graduated from St. Ann Elementary School, Paul Schulte High School in 1967, and Indiana State University’s College of Arts & Sciences in 1971. She began her career in workforce development at a West Central Indiana social services office and earned her professional licenses as a Social Worker, Marriage and Family Therapist, and Mental Health Counselor in 1993. She spent the heart of her career with the Indiana Department of Family and Social Services Administration’s Terre Haute bureau, specializing in vocational rehabilitation counseling and workforce development. She concluded her working years with First Financial Bank’s Collections Department, retiring after 14 years of dedicated service.

In 2002, Mary Jane’s professional commitment to helping others and her personal faith merged when she was professed into the Secular Franciscan Order (OFS) at St. Joseph University Parish. That same year she received the Wabash Valley Optimist Club’s Humanitarian of the Year Award. A devoted follower of St. Francis of Assisi, she cared tenderly for animals, especially her beloved Sharpei mix, Harry Potter, and found joy in growing herbs and heirloom tomatoes. She served her fraternity as secretary, treasurer, councilor, and president, and played a key role in hosting a regional conference in 2011 that welcomed Friar Martin Bitzer, OFM Conv., from Rome as speaker.

Mary Jane was preceded in death by her parents, her brothers Marine Corps Veteran Master Gunnery Sergeant James “Jimmy” Coker of Sneads Ferry, South Carolina, William Coker and Joseph Coker of Terre Haute, her aunts Jane Vollmuth and Carmelite Sister Joan Coker, and her uncle the Reverend William Vollmuth, priest of the Archdiocese of Indianapolis. She is remembered with love by those whose lives she touched through her quiet compassion, faithful service, and gentle spirit.