Ninth Generation

17475. William Franklin Coffey was born on 4 September 1923 in North Carolina.⁴⁴⁰⁷⁹ William registered for the draft on 20 July 1942 in Hickory, Catawba Co., NC.⁴⁴⁰⁸⁰ William died at Trinity Ridge Nursing Home in Hickory, Catawba Co., NC on 25 June 2016. Inurnment was at Oakwood Cemetery in Hickory, Catawba Co., NC on 7 July 2016.⁴⁴⁰⁸¹

Obituary, The Hickory Daily Record, Hickory, NC, Sun., Jul. 3, 2016

William Franklin Coffey of Hickory died June 25, 2016, at Trinity Ridge Nursing Home. He was 92.

Born in Blowing Rock on September 3, 1923, William was the son of George Franklin Coffey and Mary Emma Greene Coffey. He graduated from Hickory High School. He served his country in World War II as a gunner in a B-24 Liberator, 753rd Bomb Squadron, 458th Bomb Group, Eighth Air Force. By the time of his discharge he had risen to the rank of staff sergeant.

In 1945, William became an employee at Belk of Hickory. He worked his way up to become a department manager, and at different times managed departments first at the old downtown store and later at the Valley Hills Mall store. Long-time customers will remember him for his courtesy and helpfulness. He retired in 1989 when his wife was struggling with cancer. Following her death, he lived in the house which they had built until health issues led to his admittance to Trinity Ridge.

William was long an active member of Holy Trinity Lutheran Church in Hickory. He was preceded in death by his wife, Sarah Evelyn Webb Coffey, by his parents, and by his older brother, Arnold. He is survived by his son, Michael William Coffey, of Raleigh, NC, and by a cousin, Nancy Herring of Wilmington, NC. He is also survived by two nieces and two nephews on his wife's side.

William was a good father and a good person who loved his God, his family, and his country. He will be missed by all who knew him.

Funeral arrangements are being handled by Bass-Smith Funeral home. An inurnment service will be held at Oakwood Cemetery at 2:00 on Thursday, July 7, followed by a memorial service at Holy Trinity at 3:00. A reception will follow.

William Franklin Coffey and Evelyn Webb were married on 31 January 1954 in Hickory, Catawba Co., NC.⁴⁴⁰⁸² Evelyn Webb, daughter of William Oliver Webb and Sara Lula Keener, was born on 30 April 1924 in Hickory, Catawba Co., NC. Evelyn died in Hickory, Catawba Co., NC on 12 April 1990 and was buried at Oakwood Cemetery in Hickory, Catawba Co., NC in April 1990 .⁴⁴⁰⁸³