It is with great sorrow that we announce the passing of Thomas J. Coffey, who lost his battle with pancreatic cancer and passed away peacefully at home on September 28, 2023. Tom is survived by his beloved wife of 43 years, Bernadette (Carr), children Edward “Ed” (Marcy), Michael “Mike” (Ratchanok “Kung”), Neil and Bridget Picco (George), and cherished grandchildren Chachanon (Earth), Ella, Patrick, and Nolan. He is also survived by his dear siblings, Joe (Shannen), Jim (Carol), Bob and Sherry. He was predeceased by his parents, sister Lin, and brothers Steve & Mike. Above all, Tom was a devoted family man who loved his extended family as if they were his own.
Thomas was a remarkable man who achieved great success in his career. He received his BS in Electrical Engineering from Drexel University and his MS in Computer Engineering from Stanford University. He began his career as a design engineer at AT&T Bell Laboratories, where he worked on DACS – Digital Access Cross-Connect System (voice-to-text) and designed 6 microprocessors. Later, he became the President & CEO of Advanced Telecom Services, building the company from the bottom up and employing over 100 people. He retired from ATS and started another company, CallFx, which he ran for several years before returning to Drexel for his Ph.D. in Neuroscience. He continued his research on how the brain stores and recalls information using brain stimulation at Columbia University Neuroscience. Tom is a co-author in the Journal of Neuroscience for his work on how Electrical Stimulation in the Hippocampus and Entorhinal Cortex affects Spatial and Temporal Memory. He also has multiple patents for his work in telecommunications.
Tom was exceptionally proud of his life’s most significant accomplishment – his four children and four grandchildren. He would often brag about them to anyone who would listen and even to those who wouldn’t. Tom had an insatiable love for the great outdoors and enjoyed spending quality time with his loved ones. He found joy in cycling for long distances, camping at Tohickon Valley Park, skiing, relaxing on the beach, and hiking Pennsylvania’s many trails. Tom was well-traveled and always made the most of learning about new cultures and experiencing local cuisine.
Tom is widely known for his Christmas light show extravaganza, which he considered one of his greatest achievements. He spent several days designing and building the system, which featured lights synchronized to music. With the help of his family and friends, he hung thousands of lights and brought joy to everyone who drove by his house on Beaumont Terrace. However, things got out of hand when he launched a star into the sky with a weather balloon, hoping to make his house visible from space. The police eventually had to intervene and ask him to take it down.
After being diagnosed in May of this year, Tom’s biggest regret was that he might not live long enough to attend his daughter Bridget’s wedding. Therefore, arrangements were made to hold a small ceremony at a generous friend’s home in OCNJ so that Tom could walk Bridget down the aisle, dance to “Butterfly Kisses” – their song, and witness the union between his daughter and the love of her life, George. This brought him such joy, and we are all forever blessed to have this wonderful memory.
Thomas Coffey was a brilliant, compassionate, and quick-witted man who never missed an opportunity to inject humor into any situation to lighten the mood. His passing will be deeply felt by many. We are certain that upon entering heaven, he was warmly welcomed by his friends and relatives, especially his best friend, and they are having a wonderful time together. May he rest in eternal peace.
Relatives and friends are invite to his Memorial luncheon Tues., Oct. 10, 1 P.M. at the Union League, 3801 Grant Ave., Phila., PA 19114.
Tom, from the first time I met you, you had a joyful and positive impact on my life. I am thankful for all the wonderful memories and all the kindness you have given me and my family.
Your Brother in Law, Your Friend, will always remember your generosity, your positivity, your passion, your friendship, your love!
I always enjoyed a visit from Uncle Tom…even though I am way too old for him to be my uncle… his love of family and his enthusiasm for life was in his every action…
Surprise visits were the best, there was always a story to tell and I enjoyed listening… the Christmas Eves that we were invited too and the glowing lights will forever be a cherished memory…may you all feel his energy and love for life everyday…
This gave me som comfort after John’s passing.
You want a physicist to speak at your funeral. You want the physicist to talk to your grieving family about the conservation of energy, so they will understand that your energy has not died. You want the physicist to remind your family about the first law of thermodynamics; that no energy gets created in the universe, and none is destroyed. You want your family to know that all your energy, every vibration, every Btu of heat, every wave of every particle that was your beloved remains with you in this world. You want the physicist to tell the that amid energies of the cosmos, you gave as good as you got.
And at one point you’d hope that the physicist would step down from the pulpit and walk to your brokenhearted spouse there in the pew and tell her that all the photons that ever bounced off your face, all the particles whose paths were interrupted by your smile, by the touch of your hair, hundreds of trillions of particles, have raced off like children, their ways forever changed by you. And as your grieve may the physicist let them know that all the photons that bounced from you were gathered in the particle detectors that are his eyes, that those photons created within his constellations of electromagnetically charged neurons whose energy will go on forever.
And the physicist will remind the congregation of how much of all our energy is given off as heat. There may be a few fanning themselves with their programs as he says it. And he will tell them that the warmth that flowed through you in life is still here, still part of all that we are, even as we who mourn continue the heat of our own lives.
And you’ll want the physicist to explain to those who loved you that they need not have faith; indeed, they should not have faith. Let them know that they can measure, that scientists have measured precisely the conservation of energy and found it accurate, verifiable and consistent across space and time. You can hope your family will examine the evidence and satisfy themselves that the science is sound and that they’ll be comforted to know your energy’s still around. According to the law of the conservation of energy, not a bit of you is gone; you’re just less orderly. Amen.
-Aaron Freeman.
Thank you for welcoming me into the family with open arms. My favorite and most cherished memory will always be our Colorado ski trip. Thank you for that gift and raising a wonderful husband and father to Nolan and Ella. All my love, you will be missed.
I met you for what would be just one enchanted august afternoon. Your timeless spirit permeated the space. On this day, you would feel at peace knowing that your daughter was walking into her future with her soulmate. Nary a tear was shed that wasn’t laced with joy and gratitude and love as the world stopped just for one day.
Tom, I met you and Bernadette through Larry & Kathy Baranyai. I always found you fun and interesting to talk to. You could crack a joke at just the right instant. Your cheerful presence will be missed.