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Friends remember James Coffey

LIONS CLUB PRIDE — Albert Brandel, from left, LeGrande Perce III, Jim Ervin and James Coffey show their Lions Club pride outside the U.S. Capitol during Coffey’s term as international president in 1993-94. Brandel, Moore and Coffey were all past international presidents, and Perce was a former international director.

TORONTO — While he spent a portion of his life in the presence of popes and presidents, James Coffey never considered himself more than “a guy from Toronto.”

That’s how friends are remembering Coffey, who died Wednesday at the age of 82.

Coffey, 82, a lifelong Toronto resident, dedicated a large part of his life to helping others, especially through his work with the Lions Club International, which he led as international president from 1993-94.

“He was an outstanding person,” Toronto Mayor John Parker said. “He was a pillar of the community, and when he talked, people listened. His loss is felt by all of us.”

Coffey joined the Toronto Lions Club in 1959 and remained a member for 59 years. He spent many of those years holding international level offices, including international director, vice president and president of the international organization.

Toronto Lions Club member Bob Woodside tried to put into perspective what an honor it is to hold the office of international president of such a large organization as the Lions Club.

“At the time he became president, there were about 7,500 people in Toronto,” he said. “He became the leader of 40,000 to 45,000 clubs in 200 countries and about 1.5 million members.”

“That was a big honor,” Parker said. “That really put Toronto on the map and it was all his hard work.”

Former Toronto Mayor Bob Wilson agreed while trying to offer perspective.

“I didn’t realize at first what an accomplishment it was,” he said. “Then I was really amazed. That is like a mayor becoming president. We have a few famous people from Toronto — Clarke Hinkle, Bill Peterson and Robert Urich. He is up there too — way, way up there on that list.”

During his time as international president, Coffey met with dignitaries from all over the world, including Pope John Paul II in Vatican City and President Bill Clinton in the White House. He and his wife, Elizabeth “Betty,” a fellow Lions club member, visited 110 countries during their years of service.

Toronto Lion Jay Foster remembered Coffey on the day he took his oath as a member of the service club.

“Taking your oath from a former international president is such an honor,” he said.

Other past international presidents and Lions are planning to make the trip to pay their final respects to Coffey, including Albert F. Brandel of Melville, N.Y., who served in the office from 2008-09, and his wife and fellow club member, Dr. Maureen Murphy.

Visitation is scheduled for Sunday at the Foster Funeral Home, with his funeral service set for Monday.

“As a board member I got to meet him,” he said. “I was on the recruitment committee and he had a breakfast for us. I was intimidated. I was a young guy. He was larger than life, then I got to know him. He really took a liking to Maureen and me.”

The couple say that Coffey and his family became like members of their own family and they often would visit them in what they dubbed “Coffey-town.”

Ellsworth “Pickles” Graham, who helped create the Toronto Lions Club, said Coffey embodied the mission of the club.

“Jim was a very fine person,” he said. “He was loved by everyone and was always there when people needed him. He dedicated his life to Lionism. He was a real Toronto gem.”

Coffey’s friend and neighbor, Wade Steele, agreed.

“That was his life,” he said. “He traveled all over the world for the Lion’s Club. As sick as he was, he was just in Las Vegas for their convention.”

Despite all of his accomplishments, the words most often used to describe Coffey were “humble and kind.”

His friends remember him as just being a regular guy, despite running an organization with such famous past and current members as President Jimmy Carter; Her Royal Highness Sophie Rhys-Jones, Countess of Wessex; Amelia Earhart; deputy admiral of the Navy Richard E. Byrd; and Helen Keller.

“One thing — he did not let it get to his head. It never affected his ego,” Brandel said. “He was so good with people. He met with popes and presidents and treated everyone the same.”

“He was very open minded. He knew how to treat people. He didn’t dictate. He respected your opinion and he listened to you,” Murphy said.

Foster said Coffey didn’t think of himself as an international president of a major social service organization, he thought of himself as a hometown guy.

“He would throw a shadow over that in a minute just to be Jim Coffey from the Toronto Lions Club,” he said.

Woodside explained that it is a tradition in the club that you stand and give a round of applause when any international president, past or present, is introduced.

“He would always motion for them to sit down and say ‘no, I am just a Toronto Lion,'” he said. “He was an American everyman Lion who, through perseverance and talent, got to be international president.”

The Rev. Tyler Bayless of the First Presbyterian Church in Toronto, where Coffey joined in 1948 and served as an ordained deacon and elder, said “He was very humble even with all his accomplishments. He would talk about it if you would ask, but he was very humble.”

Coffey was praised for his work ethic. Coffey worked at Shell Lubricants, originally Quaker State, in Newell for 33 years and was managing partner of Coffey enterprises, the developer of the Wallace Heights subdivision in Toronto.

“He was such a hard worker,” Murphy said. “He had such a great work ethic. He was one of the few presidents that continued to work full time.”

“Most international presidents don’t have a nine-to-five job,” Woodside said. “He would get off a plane at 1 a.m., go to work a 12-hour shift in the refinery and then mow the lots. He said he only got about four hours sleep a night.”

Foster remembered that there was never a job Coffey wouldn’t offer to do.

“He was always asking ‘what needs done? Let me do it,'” he said. “He liked to stay behind the scenes. Any task that needed done, he would do it.”

Finally no one could mention Coffey without bringing up his wife of 62 years.

“He was so dedicated to his wife, Betty,” Murphy said.

“We graduated high school together — me, him and his wife,” Wilson said. “They were a couple since they were sophomores or maybe even before. Everyone knew they would end up together. That was the love of his life and he was hers.”

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