Obituary of Richard Paul Coffey

Feb. 13, 1936 – October 29, 2023

50 Year Resident of Santa Cruz, CA

A Mass of Christian Burial will be celebrated in Corralitos for Richard Coffey who passed away peacefully in Santa Cruz following a lengthy battle with Parkinson’s disease. Born on February 13, 1936, in Omaha, Nebraska, Richard was 87 years old.

Richard’s family moved from Nebraska to California in 1941 and purchased their first home in Westchester, CA in 1949. Richard grew up on the beaches of Southern California and graduated high school in 1954. He attended The University of Colorado and earned his bachelor’s degree in electrical engineering. He served in the National Guard, and shortly thereafter, began a career in engineering that spanned more than 20+ years.

In the early 1980’s Richard decided to try his hand at the restaurant business and opened Poco Pizza on Mission St. There he honed his skills at creating the perfect pizza crust and served one of Santa Cruz county’s finest pizzas. Upon retirement, he became interested in real estate property investments in the Santa Cruz Mountains, partnering with a friend.

Richard will forever be remembered for his entrepreneurial spirt, his love of tinkering on anything mechanical, his fearlessness in experimenting with things new or interesting to him, and his passion for sports cars (owning several in his lifetime, including a Porsche 356, a Corvette, and a Jaguar XKE) But most of all, he’ll be remembered for his unending kindness and generosity.

Along with his family, Richard loved the great outdoors, camping trips to the Sierras and Yosemite, and road trips throughout California and the United States. He and his wife of 41 years Gretchen were long time parishioners of Holy Eucharist Catholic Community in Corralitos.

He is survived by his wife Gretchen Coffey, his children Daniel Coffey, David Morris, and Lisa Morris, his sisters Carolyn Renner and MaryPat Larez, several nieces and nephews, 4 grandchildren, and 2 great grandchildren.

Mass will be celebrated at Holy Eucharist Catholic Church (527 Corralitos Road) on Friday November 17, 2023, beginning at 11:00am.

The family is very thankful for the care he received at Paradise Villa, Capitola, CA and Hospice of Santa Cruz County. A kind act of charity can be made in his memory to Holy Eucharist Catholic Church or Hospice of Santa Cruz County