John J. Craffey Jr. Was Veteran, Sporting Coach

John J. (Coach) Craffey Jr., 67, beloved father, grandfather, brother and friend, died suddenly on Friday, August 9, at his home on the Vineyard. He was born Oct. 25, 1934 in Boston, son of the late John J. and Lillian A. (Gazette) Craffey and grew up in Weymouth.

He was graduated from Boston College in 1956 with a bachelor's degree in business administration. He lived in Simsbury and worked in Hartford for many years before retiring to the Vineyard nine years ago.

He served as a lieutenant in the United States Marines before working as an insurance agent for the then Massachusetts General, Connecticut General (CIGNA) and Boston Mutual life insurance companies in Boston, Hartford and Virginia. He had also owned and operated Employee Benefit Plan Consultants in Hartford for a number of years. Since his retirement he was partner with his son, William, in several business ventures including Island Pizza on Martha's Vineyard and Liam's Restaurant in Bethel, Me.

He loved his family, his friends, the Irish, coaching Little League baseall and Pop Warner football over the years, and more recently he enjoyed meeting new people while driving a taxi on the Vineyard.

He is survived by five children, Alicia Caffey and her daughter of Simsbury; Alanna Craffy and her husband, Craig Schriefer, and their three children of York, Me.; William Craffey and his partner, Nicole Morey, and their son of Martha's Vineyard; Mary Sciano and her husband, Paul, and their two children of Marlborough, and Patrick Craffey of Hartford and his former wife, Gretchen Russell Craffey. He is also survived by two sisters and two brothers in Massachusetts and New York, and 16 nieces and nephews. He was predeceased by his son, John Michael Craffey, in February 2002, and by a sister.

A Mass of Christian Burial will be celebrated Wednesday, August 14, at 10 a.m. at St. Patrick-St. Anthony's Church in Hartford, Conn. Interment in St. Ann's Cemetery in Avon will be private. In lieu of flowers, memorial donations may be made to the Salvation Army, 333 Homestead avenue, Hartford, CT 06105. Local arrangements are by the Chapman, Cole and Gleason Funeral Home in Oak Bluffs.