Obituary Record

Dora Ann (Heath) Coffey
Died on 1/29/2005
Buried in Blair Cemetery

#1 Published in the Pilot-Tribune February 1, 2005

Dora A. Coffey, 98, of Blair, died Saturday, Jan. 29, 2005, at Crowell Memorial Home in Blair.

Funeral services will be 10:30 a.m. Wednesday, Feb. 2, at the Congregational Church UCC in Blair. Interment will be in the Blair Cemetery.

Visitation will begin at 9 a.m. Tuesday, Feb. 1, at Campbell-Aman Funeral Home in Blair, with the family receiving friends from 6 to 8 p.m.

Dora Ann Coffey was born Aug. 9, 1906, in Shell Rock, Iowa, to Abraham Lincoln and Abbie (Johnson) Heath.

She graduated from the Waverly, Iowa, high school and then continued her education at the University of Iowa and Northwestern University in Chicago, Ill.

On Feb. 3, 1927, she married Max Coffey at Wilmette, Ill.

The couple moved to Blair in 1946. Mrs. Coffey was a member of the Washington County Historical Society, P.E.O., Monday Afternoon Club, Blair Rose Society, Black Elk Neihardt Foundation, the Congregational Church, and she served on the Blair Library Board. The Blair Area Chamber of Commerce had honored Mrs. Coffey as the “Outstanding Blair Citizen of the Year”.

She is survived by her sons and daughters-in-law, Dr. James and Joy Coffey of Fargo, N.D., Robert and Joan Coffey of Hartford, Wis., and Richard Coffey of Seattle Wash.; daughters and sons-in-law, Kathleen and Eugene Flynn of Blair, Jean and Paul Pristas of New Castle, Colo., and Joan and Conrad Smith of Kearney; 44 grandchildren; 59 great-grandchildren; and 11 great-great-grandchildren.

She was preceded in death by her husband, Max, in 1973; two sisters, Mae Huebsch and Norma Peterson; and two brothers, Obbo and Lou.

Memorials are suggested to the Congregational Church, Dana College or Black Elk-Neihardt Park.

# 2 - - published in the Omaha World Herald

DORA COFFEY, 98, LOVED TO READ AND GARDEN

The floors in Dora Coffey’s apartment in Blair, Neb. were covered with puzzles and puzzle books.

She loved to read anything and everything - - atlases, volumes of history, gardening guides. And until a couple of years ago, she was a regular bridge player.

At age 98, her mind was as sharp as ever. She lived alone, drove a car. She was in perfect health until she took a fall two weeks ago.

“She broke several bones and just couldn’t pull out of it”, said daughter Kathleen Flynn of Blair. Coffey died Saturday at a Blair nursing home.

Coffey, the widow of former World-Herald farm editor Max Coffey was a stay-at-home mother and community volunteer. She served on the Blair Library Board and worked for years on the Blair Community Hospital rummage sale. She also was a charter member of the Blair Rose Society.

“She was a wonderful gardener. (My parents) had a back yard with about 400 to 500 rose bushes that they hand-tended, and my mom did most of it”, Flynn said.

In the early 1990’s, the City of Blair honored Coffey for service to the community.

She was born to Shell Rock, Iowa, graduated from Waverly (Iowa) High School and attended Northwestern University in Evanston, Ill., and the University of Iowa in Iowa City, where she met her husband. He died in 1973.

She was studying to be a Latin teacher, but she got married instead, Flynn said.

Other survivors include sons James of Fargo, N.D., Robert of Hartford, Wis., and Richard of Seattle; daughters Jean Pristas of New Castle, Colo., and Joan Smith of Kearney, Neb.; 44 grandchildren, 59 great-grandchildren and 11 great-great-grandchildren.

Funeral services are at 10:30 a.m. Wednesday at the Congregational Church in Blair.

(There is an additional obituary on file in the Blair Public Library, published in the Omaha World Herald on January 30, 2005 that did not contain any additional information.) #3 Funeral Leaflet

In Loving Memory of Dora Ann Coffey

Born August 9, 1906 Shell Rock, Iowa ~ Entered Into Rest January 29, 2005 Blair, Nebraska

Funeral Services 10:30 A.M. Wednesday, February 2, 2005 Congregational Church UCC, Blair, Nebraska. Officiating: Pastor Shirley Schmidt. Organist: Cheryl Baron. Vocalist: David Rush. Music Selections: “In The Garden”, “Untitled Hymn” by Chris Rice

Casketbearers: Bob Coffey, Pat Coffey, Ross Coffey, Mike Flynn, Al Tarrell, Dan Flynn, Jamey Gay, Ev Tarrell, Jerry Coffey, Roger Coffey, Kelly Flynn, Jeff Gay, Dave Tarrell

Graveside Services: Blair Cemetery, Blair, Nebraska

Arrangements by Campbell-Aman Funeral Home

~~~ Obituaries and funeral leaflet courtesy of Washington County Genealogical Society. Newspaper clippings and leaflets on file in the Blair Public Library at Blair, Nebraska~~~

FindaGrave #113534344

Printed in the Washington County Pilot-Tribune on 2/1/2005


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