'He didn't know a stranger': Family, friends mourn loss of motorcyclist

May 24—When Ryan Coffman saw an opportunity to help, loved ones say he jumped at it without hesitation. When he sensed something was wrong, his infectious smile, compassion and sense of humor shined through like few others could.

Going above and beyond for others was simply in his nature.

Brittany and Tyler Ziolkowski remembered how quickly their friendship grew with him, like so many others, almost immediately after moving in next door during the Christmas of 2019.

"He worked on the road when we first moved there and during the winter months, he would just come over and plow our drive when we didn't even ask him," Brittany Ziolkowski said. "The way he interacted with my kids and just with my whole family. He didn't know a stranger."

"We clicked instantly, he was just that type of guy," Tyler Ziolkowski said.

Coffman, a 33-year St. Joseph native and avid motorcyclist, was killed by a wrong-way driver who collided with him as he exited Interstate 229 on his Harley Davidson in the early morning hours on May 17.

Surrounded by numerous friends and family, Coffman was laid to rest on Thursday in St. Joseph. Even in passing, Coffman will potentially make a lifesaving difference for eight different people as a registered organ donor.

"They say that if you're an organ donor, your DNA lives on through other people," said Joey Strasser, one of Coffman's closest friends for more than a decade. "Maybe someone will pick up a motorcycle who had never rode one, pick up a car hobby. That would be you know, inspiring."

"When they said how many people he was going to be able to save, he'd have said, 'That's not enough.' He'd be like, 'Just one more. Let's do one more,' you know?" said Chandra Roberts, Coffman's older sister.

Roberts and Coffman's sibling relationship was like that of many. Roberts was the overprotective sister, Coffman the playful instigator. The two would poke fun at one another and crack jokes, with the occasional banter in between. But at the end of the day, disagreements always washed away and the love for one another grew stronger.

She smiles at the memory of teaching Coffman how to drive a stick shift in her old Ford Escort ZX2. Their father, Kenneth, passed away when Coffman was 10 and she was 17.

"That was a pretty proud moment, you know, since my dad wasn't here," she said.

Roberts couldn't have been more proud of the man her little brother became, from his constant pursuit of knowledge to the dedication he showed his friends, family and his career.

"Ryan's being, you know, Captain America again ... I never knew a better human," she said.

Coffman worked as a final assembler on LED lights at Sunshine Electric Display for 13 years after graduating from Savannah High School in 2009. He loved listening to classic rock and his favorite band KISS on 101.1 the Fox.

"He never missed a day of work. The day that he got hit. He wasn't even supposed to work that day. He didn't have to, but he went," she said. "He was always chasing that dollar so he could have more money to do stuff with in his garage and with his regal."

"I was always scared that he was going to get hit because bikers get hit all the time," Roberts said. "He would always say, 'I don't have to worry about me. I have to worry about the other guy.'"

In response to the crash, Roberts and others want to see flashing warning lights added to the "do not enter" signs at the Edmond Street exit.

"My son still can't get over it. It's going to take a long time, more than usual. It's been devastating," said Jeremiah Sutton, a longtime friend and brother-in-law. "He was one of a few that aren't left around anymore ... he was a young guy but had the heart of an old guy."

After learning of Coffman's death, longtime friend Kacie Simon wasn't sure she would ever be able to ride her motorcycle again.

"I didn't touch my bike until Monday after finding out Friday morning," she said. "And as crazy as it sounds, once I hopped on my bike and went for a ride, it was like a sense of peace came over me. I know he would have been like, 'Don't stop. Keep going.'"

There was no happier place for Coffman than when he was on the road. He and Strasser would make frequent road trips to places like the Lake of the Ozarks and Eureka Springs.

The two were inseparable, spending hundreds of hours over many years working on every aspect of a car one could think of.

On any given day, it was almost a guarantee Coffman would be found in his garage, where his wealth of knowledge and craftiness was put on full display.

He kept his garage shop, yard and nearly everything he owned in pristine condition, proud traits that he acquired from his grandfathers Walter D. Coffman and Ervin "Joe" Luke.

"He took pride in the way he looked and took care of himself. Just like his cars. He had to wash them all the time," Strasser said.

To this day, he'll always be impressed by Coffman's outgoing personality and his natural ability to strike up a conversation with someone at any time or place.

There wasn't a day that went by during high school that friend Brittany Badua wasn't hanging out with the social butterfly that was Coffman and their close group of friends, often cruising around St. Joseph for hours on end.

"He was very much a jokester. He always made sure that you were happy, you were laughing. He put everyone first," Badua said.

Coffman's loved ones say that he was as fearless and strong as he was kind. Few instances epitomized that as much as the time Coffman attempted to jump a large berm on his motorbike with Sutton. During the jump, he accidentally missed his spot and landed in a patch of thorns.

"He ran one through his eye and thought that he was all right and he could still keep going. He didn't think he needed to go to the hospital. That's when we thought he was Superman," Sutton said.

In the eyes of many of his friends and family, he was a superhero.

As time passes, Coffman's closest friends and family are determined to keep the memory of one of St. Joseph's kindest souls alive.

"I'm gonna keep pushing on and go to Bike Fest this summer. We're going to print a picture of him. We're going to take him with us," Simon said.