Just got off the phone this morning with HAROLD CARR, my retired 1997 Boeing VP OF PUBLIC RELATIONS AND ADVERTISING... THE GIFTED, ONE AND ONLY SUPA-CHIEF that was with Boeing for only 35 years.

Although his story is AMAZING...It was with a very heavy heavy heart that I was giving him tidings of very sad news about one of our favorite Boeing Family brothers...FOREST G. "BUD" COFFEY who helped make our Boeing World a better place to be encarerated behind those tall steel chain link fences that were topped with 3 strands of deadly sharp barbed wire.

These two amazingly gifted people people...were still going strong....even after retirement========================
that is-UNTIL--- I made a phone call to Bud Coffey's wife a while back, to wish Bud and her a MERRY CHRISTMAS AND A HAPPY NEW YEAR.
I knew that Bud was having some real problems...with the dreaded LEWY BODY syndrome which slow to start but now has begun to advance at an alarming rate.
After delivering this news to Harold as carefully as possible...(Harold, though tough as nails or that 3 strand barbed wire that I referred in the first paragraph...his people skills really KICKED IN and helped me to try and deal with this latest news about our mutual close friend and co-worker.

Enough drivil...I will delete this post due to RAM space but I would like to share a couple of photos of drawings that I made up for both of these two amazingly talented Boeing People person brothers...just for the memories gone by.

attached are two photos..
The first one is of our friend "BUD!" "THE KING OF GENTLE PERSUASION"  (surrounded with his many many Boeing and NW related programs)
followed by HAROLD CARR  (at bat) -with the words "NO COMMENT" recognition drawing...( by the way the gent  BEHIND on the far right side of Frank Shrontz with the  RED SKI suit saying "LET'S TALK" is our friend BUD COFFEY who wore many many hats related to the programs making Boeing a better place to work and live.

Don,
it seems that this sort of news pops up around Christmas and New Years more than any other time of year, at least for me. I feel your pain friend, I have heard you speak of Mr. Coffey before , I didn't know him personally of course, but he kept you on the path at least for awhile so he must have been a great and patient guy,,,

be well Don,,

www.lewybodydementia.org
Yes...This is especially horrific and  is truly a tragic outcome for such a giving and gifted  N/W PEOPLE PERSON LEADER.
Sad to see his amazing mind TRAPPED IN HIS OWN FAILING BODY AND MIND!
Thus proving==============================================================================
GETTIN' OLD SUCKS!but the alternate can be rewarding if we chose to live on the promises.
attached  detail of Frank Shrontz's retirement recognition that shows both Bud Coffey (saying "It ain't over till its over) and Harold Carr behind Moose.
last drawing is a low resolution photo of Frank Shrontz's "Field of Dreams" retirement painting.

Thanks Doc~!
One thing these men in these recognition drawing  have in common with all of us...THEIR LOVE FOR FLYING MACHINES (whether it be paper airplanes or vehicles that landed  man onto the moon & back.)