E. A. Coe is…
F. Coe Sherrard Jr, a former United States Navy aviator and longtime businessperson retired and living in Edinburg, Virginia. Born in Havre de Grace, Maryland, Coe grew up in the farming community of Rising Sun, Maryland, and graduated from Western Maryland College (now called McDaniel College) in 1971. During college, he adopted the pen name, E. A. Coe, while writing humorous parodies of prose encountered during a semester of Early American literature. After graduating with a Bachelor of Arts in Economics, Coe reported to Pensacola, Florida for naval flight training.
He flew carrier-based logistical support aircraft serving the East-Coast carrier fleet during the latter years of the Vietnam Conflict, and remained in the Naval Reserves, flying E-2C (Hawkeye) airborne early warning aircraft and C-2A logistical support aircraft. He retired with the rank of Commander in 1991.
Coe was a founding manager of Spirit Cruises, a division of CI Travel, based in Norfolk, Virginia. Thecompany built a fleet of inland cruise vessels servicing eleven different metropolitan ports before successfully selling to international food giant, Sodexho. Coe then moved his family to Branson, Missouri, where he managed the construction of the largest vessel ever built for a land-locked body of water, The Showboat Branson Belle, for independent theme-park company, Herschend Family Entertainment. In that company, he also served as General Manager of the Dollywood Theme Park, Vice President of Development, and President of Ride The Ducks.
Coe moved to Virginia in 2005 where he and his wife opened the Woodstock Café and Shoppes, operating successfully for 14 years. They sold the business in 2019 but continue to be involved in the rural community’s social infrastructure. Married in 1971, Jean and Coe have three children and seven grandchildren, and reside along the North Fork of the Shenandoah River in Edinburg, Virginia.
