Obituary for James M Coffey
COFFEY, James M.,66, of Winchester, originally from Revere, passed away on December 17, 2022 from esophageal cancer. He is survived by his wife Eve Alda, sons Scott, Jake, and daughter-in-law Chrisi, brothers and sisters John, Nancy, Karen and Edward. Devoted son of the late Letitia (Leslie) and Thomas Coffey. Also brother of the late Robert Coffey. He will be missed by 15 nieces and nephews, 5 great-nephews and a great-niece, and by many cousins.
Jim entered the Air Force after graduating from Northeast Metro Regional Vocational High School, in 1974. He had hoped to see parts of the world overseas, or at least sent to the western part of the country, but instead was stationed in S. Carolina. In the Air Force he was involved with Communications, which prepared him for Sylvania Tech where he received training as a computer technician. He worked for many years afterward, for the companies Burroughs and then Wang Laboratories. He attended college in his 30s, studying Physical Therapy as an Undergraduate and Graduate student at University Massachusetts Lowell. Both of his sons were born while he was a student.
Wondering about a particular battle that occurred during WWII, want to understand about the code talkers, or go to a reenactment? Then Jim was the guy to talk to. He had an incredibly large collection of DVDs that were set in WWII and non-fiction books about the subject. He was really fascinated and knowledgeable about it.
Want to talk about Boston Sports- particularly the Patriots- Jim could engage with anyone about games, players, and the coaches. He set the DVR and watched every football game more than once, getting just as upset or excited about certain plays, as if he was watching it for the first time. Jake and he had a weekly phone call after each game during football season, to talk about each important moment of the game…good and bad.
The Starks, the Lannisters, the Targaryans and all the intricate story lines of The Game of Thrones were also watched multiple times each week, accompanied by long conversations and analysis with Scott. Did you see the Red Wedding coming?
But, above and beyond WWII, sports, tv, and movies, was his family. He reminisced frequently, always with a smile, about his childhood. His neighborhood where the expectation was that you went home when the streetlights came on, and if you had done anything wrong, your mother would know about it from the neighbors before you even got there. How with five siblings, Jim described a pecking order of waking up the next brother or sister when it was time for the next one to shower. He talked about the church at the bottom of the hill where he served as head alter boy for a while, and after midnight mass on Christmas Eve, the Coffeys had an open house at their apartment and celebrate the holiday with family, friends and neighbors (by far Jim’s favorite season throughout his life).
It was this upbringing that made him the loving, caring, and generous husband father, brother, uncle and friend, with a great sense of humor, that he became. He was always thinking of ways to brighten others’ day, help out those he cared about, and was fiercely loyal.
Jim will be missed dearly.
Memorial/ Celebration of Life:
There will be a short memorial service followed by a buffet lunch with time to mingle, see long-time friends and family and meet new friends, and celebrate Jim’s life.
Wednesday, Dec. 28th at Noon.
Fairways at Woburn Country Club
5 Country Club Rd
Woburn, MA 01801
In lieu of flowers, please consider giving a gift to Dana-Farber Cancer Institute in memory of James Coffey to support cancer research and patient care at:
dana-farber.org/gift
OR
Dana-Farber Cancer Institute
P.O. Box 849168
Boston, MA 02284
Jim entered the Air Force after graduating from Northeast Metro Regional Vocational High School, in 1974. He had hoped to see parts of the world overseas, or at least sent to the western part of the country, but instead was stationed in S. Carolina. In the Air Force he was involved with Communications, which prepared him for Sylvania Tech where he received training as a computer technician. He worked for many years afterward, for the companies Burroughs and then Wang Laboratories. He attended college in his 30s, studying Physical Therapy as an Undergraduate and Graduate student at University Massachusetts Lowell. Both of his sons were born while he was a student.
Wondering about a particular battle that occurred during WWII, want to understand about the code talkers, or go to a reenactment? Then Jim was the guy to talk to. He had an incredibly large collection of DVDs that were set in WWII and non-fiction books about the subject. He was really fascinated and knowledgeable about it.
Want to talk about Boston Sports- particularly the Patriots- Jim could engage with anyone about games, players, and the coaches. He set the DVR and watched every football game more than once, getting just as upset or excited about certain plays, as if he was watching it for the first time. Jake and he had a weekly phone call after each game during football season, to talk about each important moment of the game…good and bad.
The Starks, the Lannisters, the Targaryans and all the intricate story lines of The Game of Thrones were also watched multiple times each week, accompanied by long conversations and analysis with Scott. Did you see the Red Wedding coming?
But, above and beyond WWII, sports, tv, and movies, was his family. He reminisced frequently, always with a smile, about his childhood. His neighborhood where the expectation was that you went home when the streetlights came on, and if you had done anything wrong, your mother would know about it from the neighbors before you even got there. How with five siblings, Jim described a pecking order of waking up the next brother or sister when it was time for the next one to shower. He talked about the church at the bottom of the hill where he served as head alter boy for a while, and after midnight mass on Christmas Eve, the Coffeys had an open house at their apartment and celebrate the holiday with family, friends and neighbors (by far Jim’s favorite season throughout his life).
It was this upbringing that made him the loving, caring, and generous husband father, brother, uncle and friend, with a great sense of humor, that he became. He was always thinking of ways to brighten others’ day, help out those he cared about, and was fiercely loyal.
Jim will be missed dearly.
Memorial/ Celebration of Life:
There will be a short memorial service followed by a buffet lunch with time to mingle, see long-time friends and family and meet new friends, and celebrate Jim’s life.
Wednesday, Dec. 28th at Noon.
Fairways at Woburn Country Club
5 Country Club Rd
Woburn, MA 01801
In lieu of flowers, please consider giving a gift to Dana-Farber Cancer Institute in memory of James Coffey to support cancer research and patient care at:
dana-farber.org/gift
OR
Dana-Farber Cancer Institute
P.O. Box 849168
Boston, MA 02284