John G. Coughlin: Civil Servant,
Times Two
John G. Coughlin was a giving man, and that kept him
very busy.
Sergeant
Coughlin, 43, was with the emergency services unit of the
New York Police Department. In his spare time, he was a
volunteer firefighter in Pomona, N.Y., where he lived
with his family. "He was always on the go," said his
wife, Patricia Coughlin.
He was good at spoiling his three daughters, Erin, 16,
Tara, 13, and Kayla, 6. He took them parasailing,
white-water rafting and to amusement parks. He took them
to baseball games, but there was a slight complication.
He was a Mets fan and all three girls are Yankees fans
&emdash; Mrs. Coughlin is neutral &emdash; and so they
went to both stadiums. When the Yankees played the Mets
in the World Series, well, that got a little tense.
A former Marine, Sergeant Coughlin was active in the
Rockland County detachment of the Marine Corps League,
helping older veterans and doing honor guard duty at
funerals. "He loved that," his wife said. "Once a Marine,
always a Marine."
One of his favorite times was the middle of December,
when he would take a week's vacation to work on the
Marine Toys for Tots Program. "He was a firm believer
that every kid should have a toy for Christmas," Mrs.
Coughlin said.
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