May 18, 1936
to March 3, 2020
Birder (Bird) Coffey, a passionate golfer, family man, tomato grower and active community member, passed away Tuesday, March 3, 2020, at 83 years old, peacefully and surrounded by his family at home in Oak Harbor, Wash., after losing a hard-fought battle with an aggressive cancer.
Bird is survived by his wife, MaryAnne; and three children, Selena, Craig and Brian.
Bird was born May 18, 1936, in Brasstown to Hamilton (Ham) and Molly Coffey née Hyatt.
He has a surviving sister, Maryjane; two surviving brothers, June Lee and Fred; and other siblings that have passed (Zebadiah, James, Dexter, Austin and twins that died at birth).
After high school, Bird enlisted in the U.S. Air Force, with a career serving 22 years.
While stationed at Travis Air Force Base, he met his wife and love of his life, Airman 2nd MaryAnne Coffey. They were married March 4, 1961, and made the world their home as they followed Bird’s career and built their family. Their 59th anniversary was on March 4, 2020, one day after his passing.
After retiring from the military in 1977, the family moved to MaryAnne’s hometown of Missoula, Mont. His second career of 13 years was spent working for two car dealerships – Flannigan’s and the Ford dealership – and over a span of 20 years in Montana, he was also a rancher.
In 1999, they moved to his current home in Oak Harbor, Wash., near Naval Air Station Whidbey
Island. Over the 20 years of living in this home, Bird planted many varieties of trees on their property, providing a beautiful environment for birds, and humans, to thrive.
If you have an eagle siting or encounter over the next few weeks that gives you a calm and peaceful feeling, you may have had a visit from the Bird man.
Bird’s family and friends will miss him terribly.
In keeping with Bird’s wishes, we will not be holding funeral services, and instead of sending flowers, donations can be made to Whidbey Animals Improvement Foundation at https://waifanimals.org/donate.
If you would like to visit and add to our online Book of Memories for his family and community to enjoy and reminisce, you can visit https://whidbeymemorial.com.