Obituary of James F. Coughlan

Coughlan, James "Jim" Francis passed away peacefully in Saint John on May 23, 2016. Born July 4, 1933 in Saint John, he was the youngest son of Gerard F. Coughlan and Marie L. (Collette) Coughlan. He is predeceased by his parents, his elder brother Gerard F. Jr. and his younger sister Dawn M. His father’s family have been citizens of Saint John since 1836, having immigrated from Springfield, MA., USA and his mother’s family were residents of Kent County, NB since the mid 1700s. He is survived by his wife of 58 years, M. Katherine (Keohan) Coughlan and their five children: Kathleen M. Wallace (Jordan) of Maitland, Florida, USA; Maureen P. Holditch (Michael) of Saint John; Christopher F. (Carrie) of Burton, NB; Peter J. (Melissa) of Saint John; and Shawna M. of Fredericton, NB; grandchildren: Seth and Braden Holditch, of Saint John; Lindsey, Daniel and Katie Coughlan, of Burton NB; Luke and Mackenzie Coughlan of Saint John; with other relatives in Ontario, Manitoba, Nova Scotia and various locations in the USA. He was educated at St. Peter’s Boys School and St. Vincents’ Boys High School- Class of 1950. An eidetic polymath, he subsequently attended St. Francis Xavier University, Brooklyn Polytechnical Institute, Ohio State University, NBTC and UNB where he was a Beaverbrook Centennial Scholar. His final academic interest was in the application of a modified symbolic logic to the analysis of the structure and dynamics of digital databases, legal statutes and social science propositions. During his working career he was employed in various technical capacities with a number of organizations in both Canada and the United States and retired from the Engineering Department of the City of Saint John in June 1996. In addition to his public work he was also responsible for a large volume of private Architectural and Civil works. Among former affiliations he was a regular member of 250 Wing RCAFA, a member of the Miami and San Diego Squadrons of the FAC; SJMFC, MCISM, MCIG, MIPAC, MURISA, NASA, NBTA, NBSCET, and the Aquinas Club. He was also a long time member of the Saint John Branch of the Irish Canadian Cultural Association (ICCA) and a parishioner at St. Pius X Parish. A life long Roman Catholic he has been a parishioner of many parishes including: The Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception, St. Peters, Holy Trinity, St. Pius X, St. Dunstans, and others in various locations in Canada and the USA. Volunteer service includes that as a member of St. Pius X Cominbed Choir and later at Holy Trinity where he served simultaneously as a lector, a Eucharistic Minister and a member of the Parish Council Finance Committee for many years. During this same period both Katherine and he also served as Eucharistic Ministers with the Pastoral Care Department of the Saint John Regional Hospital. Resting at Brenan’s Funeral Home, 111 Paradise Row, Saint John, NB (634-7424) with visitation on Saturday, May 28 and Sunday May 29, 2016 from 1-3 and 7-9 PM. A Mass of Christian Burial will be celebrated from St. Pius X Church, 316 Somerset St., Saint John on Monday, May 30, 2016 at 12:00 Noon. Interment will take place at St. Joseph’s Cemetery at a later date. For those who wish, remembrances in memory of Jim may be made to the St. Pius X Church Building Fund.