Born in Brooklyn, NY on August 24, 1930 to George P. Coffey and Mary Ellen (Gibbons) Coffey, both Irish immigrants from Dublin and Leitrim, respectively, Pat was raised in the Bronx and attended St. Jean Baptiste High School. Her first job was as a page on Wall Street. She married Edward Patrick “Ed’ Gillespie in 1954 at St. Anthony’s Church in the Bronx. They resided in New York and Northern New Jersey until Pat retired from her position as a bank manager in 1990, when she and Ed relocated to Florida. They settled in Lake Mary in 2002, and attended Nativity Church in Longwood. She participated in a bowling league, taking home many awards. She also enjoyed bingo, taking trips with friends, volunteering at her church & community, and spending time with her Red Hat group. Making friends with ease everywhere she went, Pat made a mean Irish coffee along with the best Irish soda bread for miles, and she loved to share. While she will be missed, Pat’s kindness, spirit, and memory will live on with her family and friends.
Pat is preceded in death by her parents George & Mary Ellen Coffey, her husband, Edward Gillespie, and her sister Brenda Purtell. Surviving Pat are her two children, Kevin Gillespie of Alexandria, VA; her daughter & son-in-law, Eileen & Gray Scheffel of Lakeland, FL, and their children, Patrick & Alina of Cheverly, MD and Lakeland, FL, respectively.
Visitation will be held on July 23 at 10:00 AM at Nativity Catholic Church in Longwood, FL, to be followed by a funeral mass at 11:00 AM. Pat will be interred alongside Ed at Arlington Cemetery in the fall. In lieu of flowers, please consider a donation to the American Lung Association at www.lung.org or 1200 Hosford Street, Suite 101, Hudson, WI 54016-9316.
DONATIONS
American Lung Association1200 Hosford Street, Suite 101, Hudson, Wisconsin 54016-9316
SHARE OBITUARY
v.1.8.18