The Spokesman-Review Newspaper
The Spokesman-Review Newspaper The Spokesman-Review
Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883
Current Temperature
56°F
Current Conditions
Few clouds
View complete weather report
Subscribe now

‘The gift that is your legacy lives on’: Gonzaga says goodbye to longtime President Bernard Coughlin

Former Chief Justice of the Washington Supreme Court Mary Fairhurst, left, and Ann McLane pause to say goodbye to Rev. Bernard J. Coughlin, S.J., after his funeral service, Friday, Feb. 21, 2020 at St. Aloysius Church. Coughlin was the longest tenured president at Gonzaga from 1974-1996. He died on on Jan. 28 at age 97 and served at GU for 42 years. Mary said “Thanks, Barney,” as Ann patted the coffin in the same style Coughlin would pat people’s cheeks. (Dan Pelle / The Spokesman-Review)
By Lisa Leinberger For The Spokesman-Review

Longtime Gonzaga University President Rev. Bernard J. Coughlin had a strong faith in God that he shared with the whole community, family, friends and colleagues said at his memorial service Thursday.

“Rest now,” Gonzaga President Thayne McCulloh said at the service at St. Aloysius Church. “Your work here is done. The gift that is your legacy lives on.”

Coughlin died Jan. 28 at the age of 97.

Rev. Steve Kuder delivered the homily and remembered Coughlin as someone who personally worked with, affected and ministered everyone he met.

“He was so practical and down to earth, I’m going to call him Barney for the rest of this homily,” Kuder said.

Kuder said that God’s blessings are often surprising, even during the hard times.

“Even afflictions and hard times are blessings,” he said. “Barney saw this.”

Gonzaga was Coughlin’s shop, and Kuder remembered an old story about the death of a shopworker.

“When God made Barney, I bet he didn’t do anything else that day but sit around and feel good,” he said. “Just feel good. Just feel good.”

Coughlin’s nephew, Mike Coughlin, shared childhood memories of Rev. Coughlin, stopping by his family home as a seminary student. He took an interest in Mike and his brothers and sisters and the children learned to talk about all subjects with him.

Mike remembered family charades, music, and his uncle often sang “When the Saints Go Marching In” when the children went off to bed.

“Barney was always game and ready for fun,” Mike said.

Coughlin also inspired Mike’s faith.

When Coughlin received his ordination, Mike served as an altar boy. When Coughlin came back to visit, he would often perform mass, and Mike said one Christmas Eve service served as his topic of study in later years when Mike taught religious education classes.

“He was the embodiment of good in all of human nature,” Mike Coughlin said.

Many members of Coughlin’s family came from all over the country to be at the service Friday.

Coughlin served as Gonzaga’s president from 1974 to 1996, when he stepped down and was named the school’s first chancellor.

“He was the principal architect of the Gonzaga University we know today,” McCulloh said.

McCulloh said that everyone was there to not only mourn Rev. Coughlin but also to express their gratitude.

It was Coughlin’s direction that brought the university back from the brink of a $1 million budget deficit in 1974. He’s also been credited with boosting the university’s academic reputation and improving Gonzaga’s connection to the Spokane community. And he always put students at the center of everything he did for the school.

McCulloh said Coughlin had a sign off he used on the phone, in emails and face to face. “God bless you. God loves you.”

“His faith was his superpower,” McCulloh said.

A reception followed the Mass in the Cataldo Hall Globe Room and burial in the Jesuit cemetery at Mt. St. Michael’s.