Obituary for Paul J. Coughlan
Paul Joseph Coughlan, a resident of Sudbury, MA and Old Orchard Beach, ME, died unexpectedly after a short illness surrounded by his loving family on Saturday April 15, 2017 at the Emerson Hospital in Concord. Formerly of Acton, MA and Portland, ME, he was 83.
Born in Portland, he was the son of the late Stuart E. and Catherine E. (Driscoll) Coughlan. He is survived by his wife of 19 years, Joan V. (Bennett) Coughlan of Sudbury, and was the husband of 38 years to the late Eleanor P. (Ney) Coughlan who died in July 1995. He was the father of six children: Thomas E. Coughlan and wife Carmela (Caruso) of Westford, MA, Jeanne M. Elliott and husband Raymond of Lisbon, CT, Stephen M. Coughlan and wife Robin (Enos) of Acton, MA, Patricia L. MacPhee and husband Timothy of North Andover, MA, Lisa A. Curran and husband Sean of Chelmsford, MA, and Susan M. Klosen and late husband Stephen of Milford, MA. He is also survived by a step-daughter Keri (O’Brien) Tripp and husband Christopher of Sudbury; a brother Robert E. Coughlan and wife Anne L. of Portland, ME. He was the beloved grandfather of 20: Erin Coughlan-Perez and husband Santiago, Luke Coughlan and wife Rebecca, Hannah Coughlan, Michael and Kaitlyn Elliott, Kelly Ball and husband Daniel, Kristen and Rebecca Coughlan, Gregory, Kevin and Colleen MacPhee, Shailagh, Ryan and Shannon Curran, Lillian and Alexander Klosen, Jayson and Michael Ball, and Jake and Jessica Tripp; and great-grandfather to 4. He is also survived by his sisters-in-law, Barbara Ann Mannion of ME, Kathleen Ney of FL and Marilyn Ney of ME, and many nieces, nephews and his large extended family.
Mr. Coughlan was a graduate of Cheverus High School in Portland, and earned a B.S. Degree in Physics from the College of the Holy Cross, Worcester, in 1956. For the next four years, he served proudly as a 1st Lt. in the US Air Force including a two year tour of duty at the Texas Towers off Cape Cod. Mr. Coughlan’s engineering career spanned 33 years with Raytheon in the Waltham, Wayland and Sudbury plants until his retirement in 1993. A Sudbury resident since 1998, he formerly lived in Acton for 37 years. He loved time spent at his condominium on Old Orchard Beach, where he was on the Board of Directors for 25 years.
Mr. Coughlan loved travel and time with his family, and especially loved his large growing extended family, welcoming every new person with love. He enjoyed researching and creating detailed family trees for both his and late wife Eleanor’s family.
The foundation of his family life was his strong faith. He shared God’s love and lived his life as an example to others. He served as a lector for 50 years in various churches in Maine, St. Elizabeth of Hungary Church in Acton, and Our Lady of Fatima Parish in Sudbury. He was an adult advisor for the Teen Encounter Program and participated in the Cursillo at St. Basil’s Salvatorian Center for many years. He also belonged to the Knights of Columbus for many years.
Family and friends are invited to visiting hours on Thursday April 20th from 5:00-8:00pm at Our Lady of Fatima Parish, 160 Concord Road, Sudbury, MA. The Mass of Christian Burial will be celebrated Friday April 21st at 10:00am in Our Lady of Fatima Church, with burial the following day, Saturday April 22nd in Calvary Cemetery, 1461 Broadway, South Portland, ME. In lieu of flowers, memorial gifts may be made to Care Dimensions Hospice, 75 Sylvan Street, Suite B-102, Danvers, MA 01923, referencing “Paul J. Coughlan” on the memo line; or online at caredimensions.org. Memorial page actonfuneralhome.com
For a detailed map of the Calvary Cemetery showing the location of the graveside service, please do the following: Select the "MEMORIES" tab on the left menu bar. Select "MEMORIAL PROGRAM" from the drop down menu. Select "DOWNLOAD MEMORIAL PROGRAM" which is a PDF of the cemetery map. Thank you.
Born in Portland, he was the son of the late Stuart E. and Catherine E. (Driscoll) Coughlan. He is survived by his wife of 19 years, Joan V. (Bennett) Coughlan of Sudbury, and was the husband of 38 years to the late Eleanor P. (Ney) Coughlan who died in July 1995. He was the father of six children: Thomas E. Coughlan and wife Carmela (Caruso) of Westford, MA, Jeanne M. Elliott and husband Raymond of Lisbon, CT, Stephen M. Coughlan and wife Robin (Enos) of Acton, MA, Patricia L. MacPhee and husband Timothy of North Andover, MA, Lisa A. Curran and husband Sean of Chelmsford, MA, and Susan M. Klosen and late husband Stephen of Milford, MA. He is also survived by a step-daughter Keri (O’Brien) Tripp and husband Christopher of Sudbury; a brother Robert E. Coughlan and wife Anne L. of Portland, ME. He was the beloved grandfather of 20: Erin Coughlan-Perez and husband Santiago, Luke Coughlan and wife Rebecca, Hannah Coughlan, Michael and Kaitlyn Elliott, Kelly Ball and husband Daniel, Kristen and Rebecca Coughlan, Gregory, Kevin and Colleen MacPhee, Shailagh, Ryan and Shannon Curran, Lillian and Alexander Klosen, Jayson and Michael Ball, and Jake and Jessica Tripp; and great-grandfather to 4. He is also survived by his sisters-in-law, Barbara Ann Mannion of ME, Kathleen Ney of FL and Marilyn Ney of ME, and many nieces, nephews and his large extended family.
Mr. Coughlan was a graduate of Cheverus High School in Portland, and earned a B.S. Degree in Physics from the College of the Holy Cross, Worcester, in 1956. For the next four years, he served proudly as a 1st Lt. in the US Air Force including a two year tour of duty at the Texas Towers off Cape Cod. Mr. Coughlan’s engineering career spanned 33 years with Raytheon in the Waltham, Wayland and Sudbury plants until his retirement in 1993. A Sudbury resident since 1998, he formerly lived in Acton for 37 years. He loved time spent at his condominium on Old Orchard Beach, where he was on the Board of Directors for 25 years.
Mr. Coughlan loved travel and time with his family, and especially loved his large growing extended family, welcoming every new person with love. He enjoyed researching and creating detailed family trees for both his and late wife Eleanor’s family.
The foundation of his family life was his strong faith. He shared God’s love and lived his life as an example to others. He served as a lector for 50 years in various churches in Maine, St. Elizabeth of Hungary Church in Acton, and Our Lady of Fatima Parish in Sudbury. He was an adult advisor for the Teen Encounter Program and participated in the Cursillo at St. Basil’s Salvatorian Center for many years. He also belonged to the Knights of Columbus for many years.
Family and friends are invited to visiting hours on Thursday April 20th from 5:00-8:00pm at Our Lady of Fatima Parish, 160 Concord Road, Sudbury, MA. The Mass of Christian Burial will be celebrated Friday April 21st at 10:00am in Our Lady of Fatima Church, with burial the following day, Saturday April 22nd in Calvary Cemetery, 1461 Broadway, South Portland, ME. In lieu of flowers, memorial gifts may be made to Care Dimensions Hospice, 75 Sylvan Street, Suite B-102, Danvers, MA 01923, referencing “Paul J. Coughlan” on the memo line; or online at caredimensions.org. Memorial page actonfuneralhome.com
For a detailed map of the Calvary Cemetery showing the location of the graveside service, please do the following: Select the "MEMORIES" tab on the left menu bar. Select "MEMORIAL PROGRAM" from the drop down menu. Select "DOWNLOAD MEMORIAL PROGRAM" which is a PDF of the cemetery map. Thank you.