WESTERLO — Vera Barber Coffey, a woman who built her life around “family, faith, and friends,” died on Sunday morning, March 25, 2018. She was 96.

“Family, faith, and friends … ,” said her daughter, Karen Barber. “Each one was important to her in a different way.”

Mrs. Coffey was born in Westerlo on March 9, 1922, to the late Nicholas and Edna Jones Barber. Her father owned a small farm outside of Westerlo; he would go to Albany to sell eggs and take his daughter with him. She graduated from Greenville High School in 1939, and was a lifelong resident of Westerlo.

Mrs. Coffey was the longest tenured member of the First Baptist Church of Westerlo, having been a member for 84 years. Mrs. Barber said her mother had attended the church for her entire life and remained active there.

“She just enjoyed a personal relationship with Christ,” said her daughter.

Mrs. Coffey grew up with the church, and several generations before her had attended there. Her grandfather, Hiram Jones, was a sexton at the church. She herself sang in the choir and volunteered in the vacation Bible school; Sunday school; and the Missionary Guild, a group of women who created and sent out care packages for missionaries.

“They would roll bandages,” said her daughter. Mrs. Coffey also did volunteer work for the Capital City Rescue Mission, as her husband was on the original board.

Mrs. Coffey invited missionaries who were visiting the church to stay overnight in her home. She stayed in contact with many of these missionaries up until her death, said her daughter.

The church became more interwoven with her life when she met the man who would become her husband, George Coffey. He was the son of the newest pastor at the church and had just moved to town when they first met. They were married in 1941.

Mr. and Mrs. Coffey also visited Christian camps as well, said Mrs. Barber.

“She loved to travel,” she said.

Mrs. Coffey would travel only by car, but enjoyed traveling anywhere in the country. In the 1960s, she and her family drove across the country to California to meet a missionary friend who was arriving there from the Phillipines.

Mrs. Coffey loved music. Her daughter said that she had arranged her funeral service ahead of time, leaving behind a list of hymns for the service.

“She had so many songs,” said Mrs. Barber.

She chose eight different hymns, as well as a poem written by her friend, Betty LaGrange, for the service, said her daughter.

She also left sticky notes on items she would be passing on with stories or information about them included.

Mrs. Coffey was was a homemaker until her children were older; she then got a job at a store called Little Folks when Colonie Center first opened. The store sold only children’s clothes. She later started working at a similar store called Giggles in Stuyvesant Plaza, and then for J.C. Penney, which she particularly enjoyed, said her daughter.

Mrs. Coffey was firm in her convictions and had certain expectations for her children, said her daughter. But she was also loving and devoted to her family. She adored her grandchildren and great-grandchildren, said Mrs. Barber. She filled her house with toys for them, and took her granddaughters to the circus in New York City. She enjoyed taking pictures of and filling albums with the family she loved.

“She was very involved in her family … she loved her children, grandchildren, her great-grandchildren … ,” said Mrs. Barber. “She prayed for her family all the time.”

Mrs. Coffey also took in a foster daughter, with whom she kept in touch even after she left home. And she was also true to another pillar in her life, her friends.

“She was a good friend, with many close friends,” said Mrs. Barber. She described how her mother continued visiting friends even as they grew older and moved to nursing homes. She would visit them there and always bring something for them.

“Even if it was just a box of candy,” said her daughter.

Mrs. Coffey and her group of friends were very spontaneous, sometimes leaving to have a picnic at Thacher Park — even if it was in the middle of winter.

Mrs. Coffey had a sense of color and style. She used to enjoy shopping at department stores in downtown Albany.

“She had a real ability to coordinate colors and dressed stylishly her whole life,” said her daughter.

She also kept her home clean and well-decorated. “She was an immaculate housekeeper,” said her daughter, remarking on how her mother would seem to continue cleaning already spotless items.

Mrs. Coffey also loved flowers. On one side of her home, morning glories were planted; on the other side, red roses; another section had flower beds; and she kept flower arrangements in her home. When she was younger, she also had a large flower garden in her yard.

Mrs. Coffey also had keen insight on cars and how they worked, said her daughter. She was often able to tell if something was wrong with a car and what was wrong with it. She once was driving down the Letter S in Berne when her car stopped running; rather than panicking, she coasted down the hill to the mechanic Dunston’s, said her daughter.

“She lived a long, good life,” said Mrs. Barber.

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Mrs. Coffey is survived by her husband, George Coffey; her two children, Kenneth Coffey and his wife, Dawn Coffey, of Knox; and Karen Barber and her husband, Cliff Barber, of East Berne; her five grandchildren, Kim Miller and her husband, John Miller; Colleen Hartman and her husband, Dennis Hartman; Nicholas Barber and his wife, Keri Barber; Amy Morgan and her husband, Eric Morgan; and Matthew Barber and his wife, Nicole Barber; and her nine great-grandchildren, Austin and Jordan Miller; Abigail and Emmeline Barber; Jonah, Lucas and Andrew Morgan; and Ian and Jesse Barber.

Her parents, Nicholas and Edna Jones Barber, died before her; as did her infant brother, Kenneth Barber.

Calling hours will be held on Thursday, March 29, from 5:30 to 7 p.m. at the First Baptist Church of Westerlo at 618 State Route 143 in Westerlo, followed by the funeral immediately after. A burial will be later in the spring in the Westerlo Rural Cemetery. Mourners may leave condolences atajcunninghamfh.com

Memorial contributions may be made to the First Baptist Church of Westerlo, Post Office Box 130, Westerlo, NY 12193; or to the Capital City Rescue Mission, 259 South Pearl Street, Albany, NY 12202.

— H. Rose Schneider