Lori Coffin Memorial
Lori A. Coffin
(April 26, 1959 - August 20, 2001)
She was the only child of a career police officer, so it was not surprising that Lori made law enforcement her work. At age 12, she was already typing up complaints and filing paperwork for her father, who was the Rindge Police Chief and a 31 year veteran of the Rindge Police Department. Before the Town of Rindge had a police station, Lori was answering the radio calls at her home.
After her father's death in 1978, Lori worked for Interim Chief Bill O'Neil and then for David Collum when he became Chief, while also working as a part-time dispatcher for the Jaffrey Police Department. From 1982 to 1989, Lori worked full-time at the Peterborough Police Department and became a certified part-time police officer. From 1990 to 1992, she worked as a part-time patrol officer in Greenfield, NH. In 1992 she went to work full-time as the Jaffrey police dispatcher and officer manager, the job she still held when she died. Lori had also been working as a part-time administrative assistant at the Rindge Police Department under the new leadership of Chief Joseph Collins. Lori enjoyed police work; she felt it was the best form of community service. She also readily admitted that she liked the excitement. Lori really liked people, so it was natural for her to want to help people. It was that sense of community service and desire to help others that led her to become a certified firefighter in Rindge. She joined the Fire Department in 1985 and worked the radio until graduating from fire school at the top of her class. She was an on-call firefighter for eight years. While she was on the fire department, she became one of the advisors of the Public Safety Explorer Post #308 in Rindge.
Lori's latest interest had been auto racing. Since May of 1997, many of Lori's weekends were spend working with her cousin, Randy MacDonald who drives the #72 3M Chevrolet in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series. She would travel to various racetracks around the United States doing anything from changing tires to recording lap times. More locally, Lori was active with the Herb Drugg Racing team out of Troy, NH. In her spare time, Lori loved to cook and create wedding cakes for friends. She also enjoyed cross-stitching and reading, and especially learning about local history. Lori had belonged to Police Associations and Police Dispatcher Associations across the United States. She was a member of the Jaffrey Bible Church.
Lori is survived by several aunts, uncles, cousins and many close friends.
We'll miss you Lori
- The Jaffrey Police Department