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Obituary, The News-Gazette, Springfield, Sangamon Co., IL

Brenton Coffey

SPRINGFIELD – Brenton Morland Coffey, 91, of Springfield died at 6:38 a.m. Thursday (Feb. 17, 2011) at Capitol Care Center.

He was born on Oct. 15, 1919, in St. Joseph, to Lou and Hannah Catherine Campbell Coffey.

He is survived by a son, Lonnie (wife: Vicki) Coffey of Urbana; two grandsons, Cory Coffey of Urbana and Brandon Coffey of Maryland Heights, Mo.; and a special God-sent friend, Tina Heslop of New Castle, Pa.

Mr. Coffey had been a resident of Springfield most of his life. He attended Wesleyan Holiness Church and worked as a piano tuner in his younger years. He played the accordion at the Illinois State Fair and on the Old State Capitol Square for over 50 years.

Visitation will be from 10 to 11 a.m. Monday, Feb. 21, at Staab Funeral Home, 1109 S. Fifth St., Springfield.

Funeral services will be at 11 a.m. Monday, Feb. 21, at the funeral home, with Pastor Wilson Douglas officiating. Burial will follow in Oak Ridge Cemetery.

More information is available at www.StaabObituary.com.
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A short copyrighted bio of Brenton appeared in the News-Gazette of Feb. 22, 2011 and, was written by Dave Bakke (dave.bakke@sj-r.com).

It essentially described Brenton as "the downtown Springfield street musician...a blind man bundled up against the cold, playing old-time tunes on his accordion near the Old State Capitol."

"Mr. Coffey had been blind and hard of hearing since contracting scarlet fever at 3 years old. He began playing music in Springfield in the mid-1950's."

When he contracted Alzheimers and was living in the Capitol Care Center, a nursing home in Springfield and was unable to play music.

According to the article, Brenton was one of nine children, but I have found only eight. The ninth child was mentioned in the obituary and was named Lolamae. She died a few years prior to Brenton. Tina Heslop, mentioned in the obituary as a "special God-sent friend," was quoted in the article: "I've known him ever since I can remember. He used to come to Pennsylvania once a year to visit." With permission of his children, she held his Power of Attorney.

Additional information, The State Journal-Register, Springfield, IL, Wed., Feb. 23, 2011

Here is how most of us remember Brenton Coffey, the downtown Springfield street musician who died Thursday — a blind man bundled up against the cold, playing old-time tunes on an accordion near the Old State Capitol. 

"He loved playing music," says his son, Lonnie, who lives in Urbana, "loved people." 

Lonnie's memories of his father, of course, are much different from ours. To us, Mr. Coffey -- which is the name most of us knew him by -- was the guy downtown, the one with the cardboard box for donations. It used to read, "Today May Something Beautiful Happen to You. God Bless." His gear included a coin-funnel and a tray of bubble gum for the generous. 

Mr. Coffey had been blind and hard of hearing since contracting scarlet fever at 3 years old. He began playing music in Springfield in the mid-1950s. 

About seven years ago, his health had declined to the point where he reluctantly gave up playing at the Illinois State Fair. By 2006, he was only sporadically playing his accordion downtown. 

Then he contracted Alzheimer's. When he died, he was 91 years old and living at Capitol Care Center, the nursing home at Walnut and Carpenter streets. He could not play music anymore. 

His wake was at Staab Funeral Home on Monday. He was buried in Oak Ridge Cemetery. 

To Lonnie, he was not the musician Mr. Coffey. To Lonnie, he was the father who got down on all fours to give him horseback rides as a child. When Lonnie, his wife and two children lived in Phoenix in the mid-1980s, his father took the bus from Springfield for a visit. 

"I thought it was amazing how he got on a bus all that way," Lonnie said Tuesday. "He even had to stop numerous places to change buses. It was amazing he went that far, as handicapped as he was." 

Mr. Coffey stayed in Phoenix for about a month. He got to know his two grandsons, Cory and Brandon. Most of us didn't even know Mr. Coffey had been married or had a son and grandchildren until Shannon Kirshner's definitive story on him appeared in our paper in May 2006. 

Toward the end of his performing years, Shannon wrote, Mr. Coffey often whistled for people as well as playing the accordion. He could also play the mandolin, guitar, harmonica, piano, ukulele and a slide whistle he attached to his accordion. 

He was one of nine children. His last surviving sister, Lolamae, died within the past few years, leaving Mr. Coffey as the last of the nine siblings. 

He also had what his obituary termed "a special God-sent friend" named Tina Heslop. He thought of her as a daughter. Tina, who moved from Springfield 20 years ago, returned from Pennsylvania for Mr. Coffey's funeral. I caught up with her Tuesday on her way back home. 

"We met at church -- Wesleyan Holiness on Bruns Lane," she said. Mr. Coffey was a devout church-goer. "I've known him ever since I can remember. He used to come to Pennsylvania once a year to visit." 

Near the end, when Mr. Coffey needed someone appointed to have power of attorney for him, he chose Tina. "He called," Lonnie said, "and asked if I would be upset if Tina got power of attorney. I told him if that's your wish, I won't be upset." 

Another of Mr. Coffey's church friends asked Lonnie if she could have Mr. Coffey's accordion. It is nearly 70 years old. 

Mr. Coffey did not own a suit, so Lonnie donated one of his for his father's burial. 

Lonnie said he was surprised that so many people turned out for the wake and funeral on Monday. He needn't have been. 

"I didn't know but one person when I came here in '55," Mr. Coffey told Shannon in 2006, "and now I know umpteen people. They tell me I got an awful lot of friends around here." 

RIP, Mr. Coffey.