A Mass of Christian Burial for Mary Jo Coffey, age 86, will be held Wednesday, July 24, 2024 at 10:30 AM at St. Joseph Catholic Church in Milford. Visitation will begin one hour prior to the service at the church. Burial was at Riverside Cemetery in Spencer. Mary Jo passed away July 19, 2024, at her home in Okoboji.
Mary Jo was born December 15, 1937, in Muscatine, IA to Homer and Mary Mueller. She grew up in Muscatine with her parents and older brother Gene. She loved telling her grandchildren stories about living in the Hotel Muscatine, one of her father’s hotels. May Jo graduated high school from the Villa de Chantal in Rock Island, IL and then graduated from Duchesne College in Omaha, NE.
In 1958, she met Dick Coffey, the love of her life, on her parents’ dock at Okoboji. They were married at St. Joseph’s Catholic Church in Milford, IA on September 3, 1960. Shortly after they moved to St. Paul, MN where Dick started his insurance career. Their first child Francie was born in St. Paul. Mary Jo and Dick then moved to Northbrook, IL where their other three children were born in quick succession. In 1969, the family moved to Omaha, NE and made lifelong friends on Farnam Street and at St. Robert’s Parish.
Mary Jo had a diverse set of hobbies. In her younger years she skied and sailed. Later she took up golf and tennis. She was a member of Questers and shared her love of antiques. Mary Jo played bridge with many Duchesne friends, where they solved many of the world’s problems.
When Mary Jo was entertaining, everything was perfect from the place settings to the food. Mary Jo was a great cook and loved to share her culinary delights with friends and family. She was famous for her party mix, coffee cake and ginger snaps. She was a professor of home economics at the University of Okoboji and published the University of Okoboji Cookbook, which is still in print.
Mary Jo loved summer and headed to her beloved Lake Okoboji the moment school got out. She was a lifelong member of the Okoboji Yacht Club. When she was younger, Mary Jo sailed her X, Y and C boats and crewed for many great sailors on West Okoboji. She loved sitting in the sun on her dock, and entertained many on her screened in porch, all were welcomed
Mary Jo was fiercely independent, had a strong wit and a sharp mind. Most of all Mary Jo cherished her Catholic faith and her family. Mary Jo was a member of the Equestrian Order of the Holy Sepulcher.
She was preceded in death by her parents and brother. She is survived by her husband Dick of 63 years, her children Francie (Tim) Conrad, Kathy (Keith) Toole, Pat (Jody) Coffey and John (Gina) Coffey along with her grandchildren: Kelly (Sam) McBride, Michael Brooks, Anna Brooks, Matthew Coffey (fiancée Annemarie Gregory), Maggie Coffey, Annie Coffey, Newton Coffey, and Cana Coffey; nieces and nephews.
Memorials are suggested to: St. Robert’s Catholic Church, Omaha, NE; St. Joseph’s Catholic Church, Milford, IA; Duchesne Academy, Omaha, NE or the Lakes Art Center, Okoboji, IA.
Turner Jenness Funeral Home was in charge of arrangements.
