OBIT: E. Mildred (KNECHT) COAKLEY, 2005, Bellefonte, Centre County, PA Contributed for use in the USGenWeb Archives by Sharon Miller Copyright 2008. All rights reserved. http://www.usgwarchives.net/copyright.htm http://www.usgwarchives.net/pa/centre/ _________________________________________ E. MILDRED COAKLEY E. Mildred Coakley, 88, of rural Bellefonte, died Friday, July 8, 2005 at the Centre Crest Nursing Home, Bellefonte. Mildred was born on Sept. 5, 1916 in Mill Hall, a daughter of the late Walter and Margaret Bitner Knecht. Mildred moved to Yarnell in 1936, where she met and later married Raymond Boyd Coakley. Raymond preceded Mildred in death on June 26, 1970. Mildred is survived by the following children: Melvin B. and wife, Carol Coakley of Beech Creek, Ronald J. and wife Sandy Coakley of Yarnell; Dorothy J. and husband Donald Gates of Zion; Phyllis L. and husband Bill Dixon, Sr. of Tyrone; Thomas L. and wife Cathy Coakley of rural Howard; Thelma M. Gilbert and husband Larry of rural Howard; Majorie A. and husband Clarence Johnson of rural Howard and Glenn and wife Jeri Coakley of Yarnell. She is also survived by 24 grandchildren, 44 great grandchildren and one great great grandchild. Mildred was preceded in death by one sister, Elizabeth Courter; a brother, Lowell Knecht and one great grandson. She is also survived by two brothers: Clair Knecht of Bellefonte and Ray Knecht of Mechanicsburg and five sisters: Mary Louise Fox of Jersey Shore; Margaret McGill of Tucson, AZ; Evelyn Tupper of Bellefonte; Helen Reish of Lock Haven and Isabelle Eisenhower of Buffalo, NY. Mildred leaves behind a varied legacy, having touched innumerable lives in her 88 years. As a teacher in Yarnell, in a two-room schoolhouse, she touched many lives. As a farm wife, she was known far and wide for her fresh brown eggs, heaping bushel baskets of peaches and sweet corn, always demanding Iowa Chief. Her prized gardens always netted hundreds of jars of canned goods including her infamous icicle pickles. A talented seamstress, she made multiple haps and garments for children and children, without the benefit of a pattern, one hap accompanied a grandson to Iraq. Mildred was an active member of the Yarnell United Methodist Church. After she retired, most Saturday evenings you would find Mildred playing cards with her brothers and sisters. She spent Sunday afternoons with her family playing board games or putting puzzles together. Mildred will be sorely missed by all whose lives she touched. Burial will be in the Advent Cemetery, Boggs Township, Centre County, with Pastor Calvin F. Phillips II officiating. Friends will be received on Monday, July 11, 2005 from 6 to 9 p.m. at the Dean K. Wetzler Funeral Home, Milesburg, PA. Memorial contributions may be made to Yarnell United Methodist Church c/o George Shawley, 620 Yarnell Road, Bellefonte, PA, 16823. Arrangements by the Dean K. Wetzler Funeral Home, Milesburg, PA. Funeral services will be held at the funeral home on Tuesday, July 12, 2005 at 10:30 a.m. Tyrone Daily Herald, July 9, 2005