Florence Jane Coffey

Dateline: Glenville, NY
Florence Jane Coffey, at the remarkable age of 100, died peacefully in her sleep on Thursday, January 16, 2025, at Glendale Nursing Home. Jane was born on May 15, 1924, in Melrose, MA and was the daughter of the late F. Merle and Elma (Brown) Townsend and the older sister of Reverend Dr. Theodore Townsend.
Jane was born in Melrose, Massachusetts and as an infant moved to Panama and then the upper peninsula of Michigan where her parents were Methodist ministers. She moved frequently as a child with her parents' church transfers and graduated from high school in 1941. She pursued her passion for music and earned a master's degree in music from the College of Wooster in Wooster, Ohio in 1945. Jane went on to work as an elementary school music teacher at Charlton Heights Elementary School in Ballston Lake, NY. She greatly enjoyed sharing her love of music with every student with whom she worked.
Jane met her beloved husband, the late William "Bill" Coffey, at the College of Wooster, and the two were wed in October 1945. Together, they settled initially in Boston where Bill studied electrical engineering at Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and then Scotia, NY, as Bill was subsequently employed for his entire career at the General Electric Research and Development Center in Niskayuna. They later moved to Ballston Lake, NY where they raised their three children and cared for several beloved cats and a dog.
Jane and Bill enjoyed many adventures together, camping and traveling across the country. Jane was an avid writer, documenting their journeys in diaries that she later looked back on with great fondness. Her joy of writing carried throughout her entire life, and Jane became a published author in 2023 with her book "Everyone Should Have a Pet."
Jane was active in and led many local community organizations including the Schenectady Light Opera Club, and the Albany Baroque Consort. She became a benefactor for the classical radio station WMHT after Bill had helped found it through the Schenectady Amateur Radio Association. Jane hosted "Let's Make Music," a children's music program, for WMHT for many years. A wonderful teacher and mentor to her students, she encouraged them to love music and to learn to play an instrument. Under her guidance, she developed the Charlton Heights Recorder Consort, an ensemble created to teach young students the joy of playing music together. She also sponsored The Jane Coffey Music Scholarship, a college scholarship through Burnt Hills Ballston Lake and Scotia Glenville Schools, for students pursuing a degree in music.
As the Chairman of Elementary Music for NYSSMA, Jane championed the cause of music in the curriculum and supported the professional development of music educators. Among her many other musical contributions were founding the Burnt Hills Theater for Children, and the Burnt Hills Oratorio Society.
Jane also was a longstanding member of the National Association of Miniature Enthusiasts and received the Ambassador Award for Region 1 in 2008-2009. She served as President of the General Federation of Women's Clubs and was instrumental in developing the annual Holiday Festival of Trees.
Highly generative all her life, Jane was highly generous in her later years, as a benefactor for the Burnt Hills Methodist Church, Judson Meadows, and most recently, Glendale Home.
Jane is survived by her daughter Barbara Jane Coffey, MD, and Richard Skodnek, MD, her partner of 33 years, Coral Gables, FL; her daughter, Kittie Coffey Bintz of Ballston Spa, NY; her son, Richard G. Coffey and wife Cristina Coffey of South Glastonbury, CT; her three granddaughters: Briannan Bintz, Taryn Bintz Burt and her husband Andrew Burt, and Caitlyn Bintz and her husband Geoffrey Ashton; her grandson Gregory William Coffey; 3 great-grandchildren, Hailey and Brenna Burt, and William Ashton; and niece Susan Townsend Fendrock and nephew John Townsend and his wife Lourdes.
In addition to her parents, Jane is preceded in death by her cherished husband of 70 years, William "Bill" Nelson Coffey and her brother, the Reverend Dr. Theodore Townsend.
A Memorial Service for Jane will be held on Saturday, February 15, 2025, at 1:00 PM, at Burnt Hills United Methodist Church, 816 Route 50, Burnt Hills, NY.
Interment will follow later in the spring in Sweetman Cemetery, Charlton, NY.
In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be made to the Burnt Hills United Methodist Church, 816 Route 50, Burnt Hills, NY 12027, Schenectady Light Opera Company, PO Box 1006, Schenectady, NY 12301-1006, or The Jane Coffey Music Scholarship, 18 Cortland Drive, Charlton, NY 12019-2644.
Condolences may be sent to the family via Townley & Wheeler Funeral Home, 21 Midline Road, Ballston Lake, NY 12019. To send flowers to the family or plant a tree in memory of Florence Jane Coffey (Townsend), please visit our floral store.