Matthew Bernard Coffey

Matthew Bernard Coffey a native of Cumberland, Maryland died in Washington, DC on April 19, 2024.

He was the son of Francis Wade and Mary Agnes (Stegmaier) Coffey. He is survived by his wife, Sharon West Coffey; two children, Julia Coffey (Satoshi Kato) and Francis Matthew Coffey (Danielle Jafari), three granddaughters, a brother and two sisters, Theodore W. Coffey, of Green Springs, WV, Mary C. Miltenberger, of Cumberland, MD and Rosanna M. Coffey, of Rockville, MD.

Matt, as he was known by his family and friends, was a devout Catholic who served morning Mass daily at St Patrick Church in Cumberland, Maryland during his high school years. He spent his later years as a dedicated volunteer to the Washington National Cathedral, the 6th largest Cathedral in the world, known as The Church of All People, the construction of which began in 1907 and was officially completed in 1990. During his more than 20 years of volunteer service at the Cathedral Matt was a member of the Board of Trustees. He Co-Chaired the Cathedral's Master Plan Committee, was a member of the Finance Committee, the Cathedral's Campaign Steering Committee, and the Buildings and Grounds Committee. Matt was Chairman of Buildings and Grounds for 10 years.

As Chairman of Buildings and Grounds Matt was responsible for overseeing the installation of many of the Cathedral's stained glass windows, the many works of art throughout the Cathedral, the Gargoyles mounted on the facade and the beautiful grounds and gardens, designed by the famous Landscape Architect, Frederick Olmstead, surrounding the Cathedral.

Matt was also involved in various capacities in many other public interest groups in Washington and in Bridgeport, Connecticut where he was employed from the late seventies until 1983. In Connecticut Matt was on the board of directors of the Bridgeport Economic Development Corporation and the Nagatuck Valley Industrial Development Council, and he served as Chairman of the Private Industry Council of Bridgeport.

In addition to his service to the Washington National Cathedral Matt served on the board of the National Cathedral School for Girls and was Chairman of the Development Committee of the Potomac School. He was a member of the National Academy of Public Administration from 1985 until his death; he served on the board of the Council for Existential Learning; he was Chairman of the Council of Excellence in Government, and of the Small Business Legislative Council. As the owner of Neadwood Farms, a certified family forest, Matt was a member of the Virginia Forestry Association and the Piedmont Environmental Council.

Matt attended LaSalle, a Catholic Boys School in Cumberland, Maryland, and received an MBA from the University of West Virginia.

Matt began his professional career as a Staff Assistant to President Lyndon Johnson. In that capacity he was responsible for Presidential Recruitment and Personnel Appointments.

At the end of President Johnson's term Matt served on the transition team for LBJ. He then joined the Corporation For Public Broadcasting which was created by LBJ as one of his last acts as President. Matt served as Director of Planning for CPB and was instrumental in the creation of National Public Radio and in bringing the Public Broadcasting Service under the umbrella of CPB. He subsequently was the founding President of The Association of Public Radio Stations.

In 1977 Matt joined Textron, Inc. During his first year with Textron he served as Executive Director of the National Business Alliance, after which he opened Textron's first Washington office of Legislative Affairs. Matt was then sent by the Chairman of Textron to Bridgeport, Connecticut where he served as Vice President for Administration and Chief Financial Officer of Textron's newly acquired Bridgeport Machines division. Matt's responsibilities included organizing Bridgeport Machines and bringing Textron's other newly acquired machine manufacturing companies, located in the UK, Singapore, and Poland under the umbrella of Bridgeport Machines.

Matt returned to Washington in 1983 to serve as Executive Director of the National Association of Counties. After four years he joined the National Tooling and Machining Association where he served as President for 20 years until retirement in 2005. During his years with NTMA Matt was a board member of the International Special Tooling and Machining Association, an international association of 22 Special Tooling Associations throughout the world, representing over 8,000 companies and over 120 billion U.S. Dollars in annual sales.

Over the years Matt contributed many articles to multiple professional journals. He was author of Toward a Clinical Method of Executive Selection. It was because of that publication which was published subsequent to Matt's work on President Johnson's Transition that President Carter tapped Matt to head his Transition team in 1977.

During his lifetime Matt had many interests outside his employment. He was an excellent tennis player and he played golf (mainly with his wife, Sharon). Matt loved sailing with Sharon and their children, Julia and Matt. They spent many weekends on their boat sailing the Potomac River into the Chesapeake Bay. He had a love for historic preservation, and as a skilled carpenter carried that passion into the many properties he and Sharon developed over 50 years, beginning in the Capitol Hill Historic District in 1970. The most ambitious of Matt's restoration/renovation projects was that of a 1700's farmhouse on his tree farm in Marshall, Virginia where he spent years creating a beautiful home surrounded by the serenity of fields and trees, beautiful birds, and wild animals.

Above all Matt's greatest passion was for his family. He and Sharon shared 53 loving years together in marriage. They worked as a team on every aspect of their lives, including employment and volunteer activities. Matt's happiest times were when he was with Sharon and their children. Matt made a point of sitting down to dinner with his family every evening when he was not traveling for business. For him it was family first, last, and always. His love of family expanded to Danielle and Satoshi and subsequently to the granddaughters in his later years.

One final note about Matt. Standing at 6'8 he towered over most. He was a gentle giant who was loving and kind and had a delightful sense of humor about life. He will be greatly missed by all who knew him. Services private.