Dorothy Ann Coffin

Dorothy Ann (Joyce) Coffin was a generous, kind, and fiercely independent woman whose last words to her daughter Cathy were to continue to give what you have to others and to take care of children in need. Dorothy died on February 23 at Yale New Haven Health’s Westerly Hospital. She had been a kindergarten teacher and, remarkably, one of the nurses who took care of her during the last few days of her life was a former student. Dorothy was born on January 8, 1931, in Richmond Hills, Queens, NY, to Ann and Martin J. Joyce. She attended P.S. 147 and Andrew Jackson High School in Queens. In 1953, she graduated with a degree in early childhood education from Hood College in Frederick, MD. She first taught kindergarten in West Hempstead, Long Island, NY, while earning a graduate degree at night at Teachers College at Columbia University in New York City. Dorothy married Alfred Joseph Coffin (deceased in 2003) on October 11, 1958, in Roslyn, NY. They later moved to Narragansett, then Peace Dale, RI, when Al’s job with Grumman Aerospace included work at Quonset Point. In the late 1960s, the family (including daughters Cathy and Patty) lived in Nowra, New South Wales, Australia, near the Royal Australian Naval Station Albatross. From 1970 to 1993, Dorothy taught in the South Kingstown School District at the historic Stepping Stone Kindergarten. She was a long-time member of what is now the Greater Federation of Women's Club of South County. In 1963, the family had joined the Galilee Beach Club in Narragansett, where Dorothy and Al later became shareholders. Until March 2020, Dorothy was a Providence Performing Arts Center subscriber who enjoyed musical theatre with her friend Mary Alice. Her lifelong love of reading was marred only slightly by blindness in her right eye and limited vision in her left eye. Her most recent reading record of approximately 1,600 consecutive days using her Kindle ended only a week before her death. In addition to her daughters, Catherine Ann Coffin of Wakefield, RI, and Patricia Ann Frechette of Park City, UT, Dorothy is survived by her grandson, Gregory Frechette, MD, and his wife, Sarah, of New York City; sister Judy Andersen and husband Brian of Cape Coral, FL, and nephews and niece Erik, Kirk, and Kari of New York and Kris of North Carolina. A funeral Mass of Christian burial will be celebrated at 11 am on March 3, 2022, at the Church of Saint Francis of Assisi, 114 High Street, Wakefield. Burial will be private. Instead of flowers, Dorothy’s wish was for donations to a fund she created on February 23, 2017, to provide local children with books, trips to the beach, and theatre experiences. Contributions may be made to the Dorothy Ann Coffin Trust, c/o People’s Credit Union, 150 Old Tower Hill Road, Wakefield, RI 02879.