Samuel Harrison "Sam" Coon (April 15, 1903 – May 8, 1980) was a Republican

Republican Party (United States)

The Republican Party is one of the two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Democratic Party. Founded by anti-slavery expansion activists in 1854, it is often called the GOP . The party's platform generally reflects American conservatism in the U.S...

 member of the U.S. House of Representatives who represented the 2nd Congressional District of Oregon

Oregon

Oregon is a state in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States. It is located on the Pacific coast, with Washington to the north, California to the south, Nevada on the southeast and Idaho to the east. The Columbia and Snake rivers delineate much of Oregon's northern and eastern...

 from 1953 to 1957.

Background

Born and raised in Boise, Idaho

Boise, Idaho

Boise is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Idaho, as well as the county seat of Ada County. Located on the Boise River, it anchors the Boise City-Nampa metropolitan area and is the largest city between Salt Lake City, Utah and Portland, Oregon.As of the 2010 Census Bureau,...

, Coon attended local public schools, and graduating from the University of Idaho

University of Idaho

The University of Idaho is the State of Idaho's flagship and oldest public university, located in the rural city of Moscow in Latah County in the northern portion of the state...

 at Moscow

Moscow, Idaho

Moscow is a city in northern Idaho, situated along the Washington/Idaho border. It is the most populous city and county seat of Latah County and the home of the University of Idaho, the land grant institution and primary research university for the state...

 in 1925. He pursued various occupations in banking and agriculture, and was the owner-operator of a cattle ranch near Keating, Oregon

Keating, Oregon

Keating is an unincorporated community in Baker County, Oregon. Keating lies off Keating Road north of its interchange with Oregon Route 86. Keating is northeast of Baker City....

, from 1929 to 1950. In 1937, Coon married Opal Kerfort. From 1951 to 1952 he engaged in the real estate business.

Political career

In 1950, Coon was elected to represent Baker County

Baker County, Oregon

Baker County is a county located in the U.S. state of Oregon. It is included in the 8 county definition of Eastern Oregon. It is named for Edward Dickinson Baker, a senator from Oregon who was killed at Ball's Bluff, a battle of the Civil War in Virginia in 1861. It was split from the eastern part...

 in the Oregon State Senate

Oregon State Senate

The Oregon State Senate is the upper house of the state-wide legislature for the U.S. state of Oregon. Along with the lower chamber Oregon House of Representatives it makes up the Oregon Legislative Assembly. There are 30 members of the State Senate, representing 30 districts across the state,...

, where the Republican served only during the 1951 session of the legislature. Toward the end of his term in the tate Senate, Coon successfully ran for election to Congress as a Republican from Oregon's Second District. The two-term congressman was narrowly re-elected after a challenge from Democrat, Al Ullman

Al Ullman

Albert Conrad "Al" Ullman , was a Democratic member of the U.S. House of Representatives who represented from 1957 to 1981...

, who ultimately defeated him in the election of 1956. Sam Coon served in the United States House of Representatives

United States House of Representatives

The United States House of Representatives is one of the two Houses of the United States Congress, the bicameral legislature which also includes the Senate.The composition and powers of the House are established in Article One of the Constitution...

 from January 3, 1953 to January 3, 1957.

After politics

After serving as Deputy Director for the International Cooperation Administration in Lima, Peru, from 1957 to 1959, Coon took up residence in Laguna Hills, California. He died in 1987, and his ashes were distributed at sea.