Celebrating the life of Carlysle "Spud" Eugene Coffey
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Obituary for Carlysle "Spud" Eugene Coffey
Carlysle Eugene (Spud) Coffey, 84, passed away peacefully at Blake Medical Center in Bradenton Florida, April 15, 2014. His family was at his bedside. Born July 12, 1929 near Hindsboro, Illinois on the family farm, he was the son of the late George Davis Coffey and Josephine Gladys Green. He is survived by his wife of 55 years, Barbara Joann Kerans Coffey, daughters; Shelly Lynn Benson of Monticello, Illinois, Sheila Jo Barbey of Sandwich, Illinois, and a brother George Wesley of Arcola, Illinois. Spud had 3 grandchildren; Emily Benson, age 14, Michael Barbey, age 10, and Nathan Barbey, age 8. Spud graduated from Hindsboro High School in the class of 1947. He was president of his high school class for a period for a period of 3 years. He served in the armed forces during the Korean War. For 2 years he served the troops from Korea during their R&R from Korea at the Meiji hotel in Tokyo, Japan. He served as a member of the Douglas County Board of Supervisors for 12 years. Carlysle, Barbara and their two daughters farmed the ground that has been in the Coffey family since 1836. Aside from farming in Illinois, their second love was Florida. In the winters when they couldn’t farm, they spent 2 months working in Belle Glade in the fresh vegetable farming industry running a packing house. They took a sabbatical from Florida during the girl’s school years. They were drawn to Bradenton when daughter Sheila moved there. At retirement they bought their second home and spent 7 months a year in Bradenton. In the 90’s he found a love of tennis. He captained a Sarasota Senior Men’s League tennis team out of Walton Tennis Center for a number of years. When he could no longer play, he was a great spectator and supporter of the sport. In Lieu of flowers, please contribute to the Alzheimer’s Association at www.alz.org, where he has a tribute page, or the American Heart Association at www.heart.org Visitation will be held at Krabel Funeral Home in Oakland, Illinois on Tuesday, April 29, 2014 from 1:00 to 3:00 p.m. A graveside service will follow at Van Voorhis Cemetery.
