Frank Coffey (1928 - 2002)

Born 8 Jan 1928 in Texas

Husband of Helen Jane McGregor — married 8 Sep 1950 (to 7 Mar 1975) in Texas, United States

Died 21 Mar 2002 at age 74 in Fort Worth, Tarrant Co., TX

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Biography

Obituary

Frank D. Coffey, Sr. 74, a retired Tarrant County Judge and lifelong Fort Worth resident passed away Thursday, March 21, 2002, after a lengthy illness. He was born January 8, 1928, in San Antonio, Texas, to Grace Elise Sibley Coffey and Marvin Card Coffey. He graduated from Arlington Heights High School, Ft. Worth, in 1946. He then served in the United States Military for 7½ years. He attended Air Force Officer Cadet Training. Frank was a navigator and flew combat missions over Korea as a member of the famed 13th Bomb Squadron. He served as an observer trainer at Craig Field, Waco, Texas, until his honorable discharge as Captain in 1955. Frank attended Texas Christian University, North Texas Agriculture College (Now UT, Arlington) Texas Wesleyan College and graduated from Southern Methodist University School of Law in 1958. He was a member of the Phi Alpha Delta Law Fraternity.

He was a dedicated trial lawyer, with a distinguished career that encompassed a variety of courtroom roles. He served as Assistant District Attorney in 1959-1960, prosecuting cases in Criminal District Court No 2 under the Honorable J.E. "Dutch" Winters.

He entered public service for the first time in 1965, being elected District Attorney of Tarrant County at the young age of 38. He was reelected, unopposed, to a second four year term in 1969. He was also twice elected as Judge of Tarrant County Criminal Court Number One, serving from 1982-1990.

Frank's respect for and commitment to the law was evident in active service to the legal community. He was the State Director of the National District Attorney's Association and traveled statewide to establish the American Bar Association's Standard of Ethics.

As a member of the Texas Bar Association, he served as Chairman of the Criminal Law Section, was an member of the Judicial Section and served on the Texas Bar Association's Penal Code Revision Committee 1973-1974. As a member of this committee he was actively involved in the first rewriting of the state penal code since 1856. He was a member of the Texas Trail Lawyer's Association, Tarrant County Bar Association and a charter member of the Tarrant County Criminal Lawyers Association.

Frank was a life long Democrat and sustaining member of the Texas Democratic Party. Colleagues will remember his fairness and strength of character. Family and friends will remember and will miss his gentle, loving nature, his warm humility, and his keen, insightful wit. He touched many lives with a graceful kindness.

Frank's family has long resided in Fort Worth. In June 1915 his grandfather, Captain G. Frank Coffey, was the one of the first Fort Worth policemen to be killed in the line of duty. Frank's widowed grandmother, Fannie Card Coffey, was the first woman elected to public office in Tarrant County when in 1918 she was elected District Clerk. Her election occurred two years before the amendment was passed allowing women to vote. His maternal grandfather, Rev. David Carol Sibley, who owned and operated the first electric cotton gin in Arlington, Texas, was also a Methodist pastor and for 38 years secretary of the Arlington Masonic Lodge. Frank's father, Marvin Card Coffey was a well respected tax account who maintained an office in Fort Worth until his retirement in 1970.

He is survived by his wife of 27 years, Charlotte Wallace Coffey; daughter Elise Tankersley of Fort Worth, sons, Frank David,Jr. of Marin Co., Calif., Jeffrey Morgan, Ft. Worth, and John Charles & wife, Michelle of Aledo, Texas; granddaughters Morgan Elise and Margaret Ella of Fort Worth, grandson Alexander Charles of Aledo, Texas;

Birth

Birth:

User ID: 71D5DA8F-71AA-4937-9011-74E74330F9B7

Record ID Number: MH:IF2106

Date: 8 JAN 1928

Death

Death:

User ID: 8E9269D6-7B69-4D7E-A6FD-0605569AA2CC

Record ID Number: MH:IF2107

Date: 21 MAR 2002

Place: Fort Worth, Tarrant Co., TX

Record ID Number

Record ID Number: MH:I1485

User ID

User ID: 90403711-27F2-4A7B-8CAA-2B6A0F85726C

Sources

• "Texas Birth Index, 1903-1997," database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:VDD7-RCK : 5 December 2014), Frank David Coffey, 08 Jan 1928; from "Texas Birth Index, 1903-1997," database and images, Ancestry (http://www.ancestry.com : 2005); citing Texas Department of State Health Services.

• "United States Census, 1930," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:C3QB-7T2 : accessed 1 April 2020), Frank Coffey in household of Marvin Coffey, San Antonio, Bexar, Texas, United States; citing enumeration district (ED) ED 58, sheet 6B, line 93, family 93, NARA microfilm publication T626 (Washington D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, 2002), roll 2294; FHL microfilm 2,342,028.

• "Texas Marriages, 1966-2010," database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:VTL5-LF8 : 6 December 2014), Frank D Coffey and Charlotte L Wallace, 12 Apr 1975; citing Wichita, Texas, United States, certificate number 039995, Vital Statistics Unit, Texas Department of State Health Services, Austin.

• "Texas Divorce Index, 1968-2010," database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:VY6T-64F : 12 December 2014), Frank D Coffey and Helen J Coffey, 07 Mar 1975; from "Texas, Divorce Index, 1968-2011," database, Ancestry (http://www.ancestry.com : 2005); citing Tarrant, Texas, United States, certificate number 014951, Texas Department of State Health Services.

• "United States Social Security Death Index," database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:JYT3-TPF : 20 May 2014), Frank D Coffey Sr, 21 Mar 2002; citing U.S. Social Security Administration, Death Master File, database (Alexandria, Virginia: National Technical Information Service, ongoing).

Children:

• "Texas Birth Index, 1903-1997," database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:V8X7-TGH : 1 January 2015), Frank David Coffey in entry for Frank David Jr. Coffey, 13 Oct 1956; from "Texas Birth Index, 1903-1997," database and images, Ancestry (http://www.ancestry.com : 2005); citing Texas Department of State Health Services.

• "Texas Birth Index, 1903-1997," database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:V8F6-PDB : 1 January 2015), Frank David Coffey in entry for Elise Ann Coffey, 20 Jan 1958; from "Texas Birth Index, 1903-1997," database and images, Ancestry (http://www.ancestry.com : 2005); citing Texas Department of State Health Services.

WikiTree profile Coffey-269 created through the import of JohnVaughan.ged on Oct 12, 2011 by Tim Childress. See the Changes page for the details of edits by Tim and others.