John William Coffey ’39

After graduating from Princeton, he worked as an insurance underwriter while attending Fordham Law School at night. World War II found him in the Signal Corps, which placed him in the Mediterranean theater from 1942 to 1945.  

After the war, Jack completed a law degree at Georgetown University in 1948, then joined the newly formed CIA as deputy chief of the communications division. He played a key role in establishing the diplomatic telecommunications service and helped to set up the hotline between Washington and Moscow. He received the State Department’s Superior Honor Award in 1965 and the CIA’s Distinguished Intelligence Medal in 1975.  

A daily communicant at Arlington’s St. Agnes Catholic Church, he was involved with the parish council. He used his experience on Princeton’s varsity crew to support local high school rowing and was a member of the Northern Virginia Rowing Association. He was a volunteer reader of talking books and a driver for Meals on Wheels.

Jack is survived by his wife of 53 years, Grahame Crichton; their children, Susan, Elizabeth, John, and Peter; and nine grandchildren. To them we offer sincere sympathy.