John Porter Cofield dies at 79 

John Porter Cofield

—John Porter Cofield, 79, of Orcutt, California passed away November 2, 2017, from a lengthy illness, surrounded by his loving family.

John was born March 24, 1938, to Harry and Pauline (Fortenberry) Cofield in Gulfport Mississippi. He was the oldest of six children. John served in the United States Navy from 1956-1962 where he achieved the rank of First Class Petty Officer.

John married his wife, Rita, October 13, 1962.  Soon after, they started their family and moved to Oxnard, California, where he worked for United Parcel Service. In 1980, John and his family moved to Orcutt, California. He began his career at Vandenberg Air Force Base with Lockheed Martin and retired in 2003.

He loved his jet boat and water skiing, often impressing friends and family with his single ski beach starts.  His many hobbies included: building model airplanes, gardening, camping and traveling. John’s most recent adventures included belonging to the Big Valley Sam’s RV Club with Rita, where they enjoyed spending time with friends.  One of John’s favorite quotes to his family was to remind them of their vehicle’s maintenance by saying “Check and change your oil and it will run forever.”

John was a devoted husband, father, brother, loving grandfather and great-grandfather. He is survived by his loving wife of 55 years, Rita, along with their children; Warren (Margaret) Cofield, Patricia (Jesse) Martinez, Diana May, Stephen (Robin) Cofield, his grandchildren; David (Paulette) Morrison, Joshua Morrison, Brittany (Chad) Holladay, Madelyn Cofield, Lauren May, Nathan Cofield, Bryce, Aubrey and Caleb Cofield, along with numerous great-grandchildren. He is also survived by his brothers; Paul, Doug, Jim and sister Margaret Wilson.

He is preceded in death by his parents, Harry and Pauline Cofield, brother Kenneth Cofield, mother and father-in-law Ted and Esther Styner and son-in-law Rich May.

A private celebration of life will be held at a later date.

To leave a condolence for the family visit dudleyhoffmanmortuary.com.

About the author: News Staff

News staff of the A-Town Daily News wrote and edited this article from local contributors and press releases. Scott Brennan is the publisher of this newspaper and founder of Access Publishing. Connect with him on Google+, Twitter, LinkedIn, or follow his blog. He can be reached at [email protected].