Special Olympics Bucks County

Erin Marie Keck

May 11, 1957 – August 13, 2025

IN THE CARE OF

James J. Dougherty Funeral Home, Inc.

Erin Marie Keck, age 68, passed away on Wednesday, August 13, 2025 at Saint Mary Medical Center in Langhorne. Born in Trenton, NJ, daughter of the late Florence (Komp) and George Coyne, Erin was a long time resident of Bristol Township.

She was the Chief Finance Officer for the family operated Coyne Search Service, Inc., for 35 years.

Erin graduated from the Bucks County Community College's Nursing Program in 1978 and began a career in nursing, working alongside her brother, Robin, at Nazareth Hospital in Philadelphia. She quickly rose to the position of night-charge nurse in the Emergency Services Department.

Her nursing career was interrupted by a bout of leukemia in the mid 1980's that forced her to abandon nursing and focus on the family business. She underwent a successful autologous bone marrow transplant at Penn Medicine but was left with lingering after effects of the the treatment that compromised her health and contributed to her demise.

A passionate leader in the Special Olympics community, Erin acted as the medical liaison for local events, overseeing the well-being and medical records of participating athletes throughout Pennsylvania and often traveling with teams to competitions.

When she wasn't puzzling over the business finances she could be found reading a biography of a favorite athlete or actor or a detective novel. She always had pets thanks to daughter Brittney; so cats and dogs were cherished family members. Erin had an honest approach to problem solving and met adversity with perseverance and her warmth and wit made conversation easy and her self-deprecating sense of humor flavored her personality.

To know Erin was to love her. She was selfless to a fault and her lack of ego a hallmark of her personality. A dedicated Philadelphia sports fan, Erin supported all four major teams - Eagles, Phillies, Flyers and 76ers - rarely missing a game.

Erin is survived by her beloved daughter, Brittney; sister, Karen Coyne (Lin), brother, Mark Coyne (Kerry); sisters-in-law, Kathy Coyne, Trish Bridge, Kathleen McBride; many nieces, nephews, cousins and friends. She was predeceased by her husband, Timothy; her parents; and her brother, Robin.

Rest in peace, Erin.

A Celebration of Life will be held on Saturday, September 20, 2025, from 10:00 am until 12:00 pm at the James J. Dougherty Funeral Home, 2200 Trenton Road, Levittown, where her funeral service will be held at 12:00 pm.

Contributions in Erin's memory may be made to Special Olympics Pennsylvania, https://support.specialolympics.org/a/pennsylvania?&utm_source=donate or to a charity of your choice

See Our Athletes in Action

From our archives:

Basketball

On April 12th, 2019, Bensalem High School hosted the Bucks County Special Olympics Basketball team in two high-spirited games. The competition was intense and the games were exciting to watch. A great time was had by all of the athletes---parents, coaches, and spectators too!

Colby Classic

Colby Umbrell volunteered for the Central Bucks Aquatics site while he was a student at Central Bucks High School East. His family is quoted as saying "Colby loved and admired the Special Olympics athletes. Sports came easy to him but he helped others overcome their obstacles." He quickly became a wonderful and caring volunteer to the entire swim team. He is still fondly remembered by many of the swimmers. After graduation Colby attended John Hopkins University. Following his college graduation he joined the Army in the Parachute Infantry Regiment and served in Iraq. Unfortunately he lost his life defending his country and his fellow soldiers in May, 2007. Every year a memorial walk/run is held in Doylestown. Proceeds from the walk go to various charities. Special Olympics has consistently been one of the recipients. The Umbrell family supports the CB Special Olympics Swim Team to help defray the cost of the spring aquatics invitational. In honor of Colby the spring invitational was renamed the COLBY CLASSIC.