Frank "Butch" Edward Coffey, Jr. Obituary - Visitation & Funeral Information

Butch was born at Enid General Hospital, Oklahoma on his dads birthday and grew up in Enid together with mom Judith, dad Frank and five younger siblings; Sherida, Robert, Samantha, Larry and Amanda. The family moved early on to a house in Brookside, a typical American suburb with tree lined streets where Butch had many friends, some life long. He was active and popular in school and graduated Pioneer High 1982 with good grades. From an early age sports was very important and he was a very good baseball player and also played football. During the fall semester 1984, he chose to partake in a student exchange program with Mullsjö folkhögskola in Sweden the spring semester 1985. That is where he met me. It was his first trip outside of the USA and he loved experiencing different environments, cultures and history. During the semester he got to experience Swedish culture, history and nature, travel through Europe and the Soviet Union where he got to visit both Moscow and Leningrad. He made many good friends. He did not just fall in love with me but he fell in love with Sweden. On the last day in Sweden he proposed to me and we married on the 17th of October that same year at the courthouse in Enid. We stayed in Enid for a couple of years with our cat Sotis. Butch worked for Mazzios Pizza where he became employee of the year. Early 1987 we moved to Kristinehamn but Sotis got to stay in Enid with good friends. In Kristinehamn Butch first got a job at Fundo Aluminium, he worked as a night portier at the City Hotel and as a care assistant at Marieberg. He studied Swedish at SFI for just a semester and then studied 4-year technical at the local High School, Brogårdsskolan. He was very popular and was voted most popular in school. Butch had it easy to learn languages and got good grades straight across. He introduced American football to a few friends from the school on a sports day and they later formed what would become Carlstad Crusaders. We adopted the cats, Snow-white and Emma. At the end of the 1980s we traveled through Europe by train, went to Pelekas, Greece for a holiday. We also went on vacation to the northeast coast of Sweden with visiting American friends Travis and Betsy. Both mom Judy, uncle Terry and brother Larry visited in Sweden. After a few years in Kristinehamn, we moved to Gothenburg with kitten Emma. Butch finished his Swedish High school degree through Komvux with good grades. During the most part of the 1990s we lived in Gothenburg with the cats Emma and Felix. We moved around from the student dorm in Johanneberg to Gamlestan area, then to Frölunda area, and last to Bergsjön area. Tired of studying Butch choose to quit university before he barely had started. He worked as a janitor for the city of Gothenburg and later worked for a catering company at the Gothenburg international airport, Landvetter. We experienced so much fun and got so many good friends in Gothenburg.A lot thanks to Butch playing for Gothenburg baseball. There were many parties, concerts and on Hultsfreds music festival. Brother Larry came for a visit again. 1998/99 Butch and I moved together with Emma and Felix to Carrollton, Texas, a town just outside of Dallas. After a short period working for the company we initially moved because of Butch started working for Herndon & McFarland where he remained for 7 years while he became a plumber. During our time in Texas we acquired many fine memories and good friends. We also adopted a little homeless kitten we named Josefin. Not a whole lot of vacation for Butch during the years in Texas but we managed to see much of Texas, travel to Colorado, Kansas, Lousiana, Florida and take a cruise to the Bahamas. 2005 Butch got head-hunted as a civilian employee in Afghanistan where he worked for 3 years as head for VA-department on a large military base. He made many friends there and was well liked and appreciated both by coworkers and bosses. After a short period in Kristinehamn we bought a house in Storfors municipality 2008 and moved together with the cats Josefin, Felix, Oscar, Nisse, Sune and Calle. Butch was since 1985 in love with the Swedish nature and traditionally red houses so it had to be a red house on the countryside, Hyttforsen in the village Kungsskogen. Our very own paradise for us and the cats. Butch was never much of a gardener but loved our garden with all the flowers, bushes and trees and he was not afraid to work hard. There was a lot of gardening and snow shoveling throughout the years but we had good neighbors, friends and created many fond memories. We managed another Hultsfred music festival too. Back in Sweden from Afghanistan Butch first worked in Norway for a year and was then employed by M.R. Kyl & Värme where he worked up to when his illness set an end to his working days. Sadly we had to sell our paradise and move back to an apartment in Kristinehamn with our cats Nisse, Oscar, Major Tom, Patricia and Svea. Butch had an open mind, was curious and always wanted to learn new things. He had a big heart, was always positive, optimistic and always close to a smile. He always tried to find the positive in every situation, always chose to see the good in people. He loved to cook and try out new recipies. He would drag out the grill as soon as the snow started to thaw in the spring. He always wanted to help and spread joy. His heart beat for animals, nature and the environment. He loved to sneak downstairs to the kitchen in the early morning hours to put on some coffee, look out the window and see birds, squirrels and deer. He was so happy when we had visiting hedgehogs one summer. He has during his life been a mediator, good friend och always wanted people around him to feel good. He always managed to connect with kids in all circumstances and kids seemed to be attracted to Butch. He was childishly fond of giving presents, surprise and loved all holidays, especially Christmas. He was practical person and handy, could figure out how to do and fix most things, saved anything that might come in handy, but not great with cars. However, his first car was a Dodge Charger and he did like to talk about that car. Music was important for Butch and he listened to all kinds of music, old as new, but closest to his heart was rock, blues and country of the older kind. He had a great interest for culture and cultures, history, and of course sports of all kinds although his heart beat especially for baseball. Even when he became very sick he lived with a positive attitude and optimism day to day and his beautiful, strong heart fought to the very end. The void he left behind is indescribable with words. He was a part of me and my heart is broken. A Celebration of Life Service will be 2:00 PM, Friday, April 1, 2022, in Anderson-Burris Funeral Home Chapel, with a gathering to follow at the Pheasant Run Golf Course PR Grill.

Frank "Butch" Edward Coffey, Jr.

November 20, 1963 - March 8, 2022