Rick was born in Caldwell County on October 18, 1961 to the late Paul Dallas Coffey and Nancy Ruth Annas Coffey. He was married in 1983 to his wife Dina Eckard Coffey, just a few months short of 40 years ago. He is survived by his wife Dina, his daughters Susan Carlton (Ryan) of Olympia, WA; Andrea Shampo (Josh) of Myrtle Beach, SC; Erin Coffey who is in her last semester at UNC-Charlotte; four grandchildren, Hailey Carlton, Jackson Danielsen, Roselyn Shampo and Ivy Shampo; his brother Keith Coffey (Teresa); sister Paula Lowman (Joey); mother and father-in-law Larry and Brenda Eckard, and brothers-in-law Brian Eckard (Stefanie) and Jason Eckard; as well as several nieces and nephews.
Rick began working at Alcatel (fiber optic cable manufacturer) in 1995, and remained with them through several owners/name changes, ending up as the current Prysmian Group in Claremont, NC. His co-workers were like a second family to him. He was a jokester and an entertainer and he was happiest when he was making other people laugh. His three girls were the light of his life. He especially loved being around them as adults and seeing parts of his personality coming out in them. Rick also loved being a PawPaw and spending time with the grandkids. Our family trip to Myrtle Beach this past summer with all of the kids and grandkids will always be a very treasured memory. He was also an avid, lifelong Minnesota Vikings fan, and he had hopes that this would be the year they made it to the Super Bowl.
A visitation will be held Thursday evening, 6-8pm at the Catawba Funeral Home, followed by a funeral service on Friday afternoon at 3pm also at Catawba Funeral Home, with Rev. Kevin Graudin officiating.
The family would like to extend a very sincere thank you to every single staff member we encountered at Catawba Valley Medical Center. For 19 days we were cared for by the most wonderful people - from the staff who cleaned the rooms and worked in the cafeteria to the doctors, nurses and therapists who provided the best care and patient explanations (which often had to be repeated multiple times), we never met one person who was not kind and caring and excellent at their job. Thank you all so very much.
