It was a musical celebration of a life well lived.
Key West bid a fond farewell to the late musician Lofton “Coffee” Butler with a celebration of life on Feb. 11 at the native musician’s namesake Coffee Butler Amphitheater. The next day included a funeral procession and graveside service at the Key West Cemetery.
The Key West Junkanoos performed at both events, while the cemetery funeral procession included all manner of local musicians.
Butler died on Tuesday, Feb. 1 at the age of 93.
He got his lasting nickname when a friend mispronounced “Loffy” (short for Lofton) as Coffee and the name stuck. Later, when Butler was playing regular gigs at the former Hukilau Polynesian restaurant on North Roosevelt Boulevard, the owners decided that story had to be embellished. From then on, Coffee’s nickname was given to him because “he was so stimulating,” Ralph DePalma writes in his book “Soul of Key West” that details Key West’s music scene and the musicians who make it what it is.
“I’d been trying to prepare myself for the day this news came, but there’s no way to do it,” DePalma told the Keys Weekly on Feb. 2 after learning the night before that Butler had died around 9:30 p.m. in Miami, where he had been living with his son and grandchildren for the last month or so. “There are no words to describe the deep sadness felt today all over Key West. Our legend has passed.”
De Palma and others offered eulogies at the amphitheater ceremony, where City Commissioner Clayton Lopez and a host of local musicians played tributes.
