John Joseph Coffee Sr.'s Obituary
John Joseph Coffee, Sr., was born on August 29, 1950, in Jackson, Mississippi, to Virginia Sue Short and Sambo Grady Coffee. He was the second born of six children. In his early years, John attended school in the Mississippi school systems, going on to complete his education at Freeport High in Freeport, Illinois.
He was a member of Mt. Charity Missionary Baptist Church and often attended Cades Chapel. He was married to Melody Coffee and to this union, John Joseph Coffee, Jr., was born. John fell in love with and married his current wife of 41 years, Dr. Brenda Faye Coffee who he loved unconditionally.
John has worked various jobs from building cars to working on them. Over the years, he developed a long-standing career as a mechanic. However, he also had another passion which lead to the establishment of his own lawn service called BJLS (Big John's Lawn Service). Along with his lawn service, he became a great mentor in the community by providing jobs to youths and teaching them how to manicure lawns, earn their own money, and be responsible in learning his pecking order.
John truly lived life to the fullest through simple pleasures, whether it was traveling across the world with his wife or just chatting and spending time with family and friends. In early years, he also enjoyed riding his motorcycle. He always had an infectious smile on his face and was known for an array of funny sayings. Not only was he "Big John," he was also known as "Big John 5150", "The Blueprint" and the "Revolution." He will be deeply missed by his friends, family and all who knew him.
John was preceded in death by: his father, Sambo Grady Coffee; mother, Virginia Sue Short Coffee; brother, William Ezell Coffee; sisters, Virginia Coffee-Hyatte and Ella Lee Ransom.
John leaves to cherish his memories: his loving wife, Dr. Brenda Coffee; son, Pastor John Joseph Coffee, Jr. (Hannah) of Michigan; one brother, David Coffee (Debra) of Freeport, IL; one sister, Debra L. (Perry) of Jackson, MS; four grandchildren and four great-grandchildren; and a host of nieces, nephew, great nieces and great nephews.
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