John Francis Coyle

John Coyle, 67 and a resident of East Springfield, passed away on Sunday, May 21st at home. John’s priority was his family, his beloved wife of 24 years Donna L. (Seckler) Coyle, and his three amazing sons and daughter-in-law, Timothy & Elizabeth Coyle, Daniel Coyle, and Andrew Richardson, and his fiancée Leah Dooks. John was immensely proud of his boys and his motto was “You just have to give them enough rope to fly but not enough so that they fall.”

John loved spending time with the family dogs, Mr. Murphy, Anna and Bentley, and numerous other family dogs over the years.   

John courageously battled Multiple Sclerosis for over 35 years and attended two MS support groups in Chicopee where he had many friends and where he was affectionately nicknamed Fred.

John’s distinguished career included working at the Holstein Association of America in Brattleboro, VT, Yankee Candle Corporation in Deerfield MA, in the role of Project Leader, Data Base Analyst and Administrator, and as a Data Base Architect.  John also worked at Cigna Insurance, Scripps Corporation, and Blue Cross and Blue Shield.

John graduated Summa Cum Laude in 1977 From the University of Massachusetts Amherst and received a bachelor’s degree in Wildlife Sciences and a Master’s degree in Wildlife Sciences in 1981 from Virginia Tech.

John is also survived by his sister and brothers and their spouses:  Patricia Fountain and her husband Steven, Dennis Coyle and his wife Linda, and James Coyle and his wife Susan.  He loved spending time with his Father-in-Law, Donald J. Seckler. He is also survived by his brother in Laws, Patrick J. Seckler and Paul Guillou, and many nieces and nephews.

A prayer service will be held Thursday May 25 at 12noon in the Barry J. Farrell Funeral Home, 2049 Northampton Street, Holyoke. Burial will be held at the convenience of the family. Visitation at the funeral home is Thursday from 10:00am to 12noon.

In lieu of flowers please donate to an animal rescue organization that is near to your heart in his honor or plant a tree and think of him fondly.

John’s quirky sense of humor and good heart will be tremendously missed by everyone who was lucky to have known him.

The family wishes to thank the nurses, OT, PT, and CCA’s at JGS Life Care and the staff at Compassus Hospice of Northampton without whom he would not have been able to come home for his last days.

To send flowers to the family or plant a tree in memory of John Francis Coyle, please visit our floral store.