A Sad Note

Now there are only two left

NORTH BALTIMORE, Ohio (AP) — One of only three known remaining American World War I veterans has died.
The Smith-Crates Funeral Home in North Baltimore, Ohio says J. Russell Coffey died yesterday at the age of 109. He had been living in a nursing home. There’s no word on the cause of death.
The Veterans Affairs Department says Coffey was the last World War I vet in Ohio. Coffey enlisted in the Army in October 1918 while a student at Ohio State University.
It was a month before the Allied powers and Germany signed a cease-fire agreement and Coffey did not see action overseas. He did play semipro baseball and earned a doctorate in education from New York University.
Coffey taught high school and college and raised a family. According to the funeral home, he drove his car until he was 104 and lived on his own until three years ago.

What changes the world went through in his life time.

categories Military Thingies | | datetime December 21, 2007 8:34 am

3 Responses to “A Sad Note”

  1. jon spencer says:
    December 21, 2007 at 9:22 am

    As the old story goes, “the cause of death is 109 years”.

  2. Mr. Bingley says:
    December 21, 2007 at 10:42 am

    Hehe, that’s true, jon; I’d overlooked that silly line.
    Reminds me of how annoyed I get at Doctors who tell 90 year olds to stop drinking…

  3. Ken S, Fifth String on the Banjo of Life says:
    December 21, 2007 at 11:13 am

    Heh. From “Grumpy Old Men“:
    Jack Lemmon: You’re supposed to be smoking filter cigarettes
    Burgess Meredith: I’m 94 years old. What the hell do I care?

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