Gerald L. Coffey

Beloved husband, father, grandfather, and soon-to-be great-grandfather, Gerald “Jerry” Landers Coffey passed away peacefully on September 3rd at 3:35 PM in his Sacramento County home. He was 84 and died of natural causes surrounded by loved ones.

Jerry is survived by his adoring family: devoted wife of 60 years Judith Coffey, son Jerry Coffey, daughter-in-law Adrienne MacLeod-Coffey, daughter Camille Mayorga, son-in-law Bob Mayorga, niece Jeanne Newman, and four grandchildren - Brian Mayorga, Aaron Mayorga, Ian Coffey, and Ariana Mayorga.

Jerry was born in Oklahoma City, OK on January 27th 1932, and was raised by his grandmother or “Other Mother” as he called her. Jerry started in a home with no running water but went on to embody The American Dream, marrying a beautiful intelligent woman who shared his zest for life, raising a family, and pursuing a distinguished career - incidentally purchasing many homes along the way, each better than the last.

A zealous patriot, Jerry was a “cold warrior” his entire professional life. Starting as an Army cryptologist stationed in Germany in 1951 he went on to work for the government as an engineer on many major defense initiatives from missiles to radar to communications. He worked on the Hound Dog cruise missile and Nike missile projects, helped establish NORAD’s Cheyenne Mountain Complex, and was site manager for two PAVE PAWS solid state early warning systems, just to name a few. His travels in service to his country took him to all parts of the U.S. from Sacramento to Omaha to Panama City and many many more, and eventually even to Tehran, Iran where he and his family served two tours between 1969 and 1977.     

In private life, Jerry was a vigorous active family man in constant motion. A nature lover, he spent his free time outdoors camping, bottle-digging, scuba diving, and four-wheeling on adventures too numerous to relate. He took joy in work and was always involved in projects large and small such as installing seatbelts in a car, restoring an old clock, or mending a barbed wire fence. He loved animals, and his children were accustomed to dad bringing home not only stray or injured cats and dogs, but wild animals such as snakes and owls and snapping turtles.

Never bored or boring, Jerry imparted his love of life to everyone around him. He was funny, generous, a great story teller, a loyal friend and wonderful companion. He thought of others constantly, and always had something to share when you saw him again - a magazine article, a personal gift, a book he knew you would like. Perhaps his greatest gift of all, he imparted to his children the same can-do attitude and sense of adventure that was his life.

Jerry will be interred with military honors at Sacramento Valley National Cemetery, 5810 Midway Rd, Dixon, CA 95620. Services will be held on Monday, September 26 2016 at 2 PM.