Boys Town Beacon, January 5, 2017...

Our thoughts and prayers are with the family of Dr. David Coughlin. Dr. Coughlin passed away on Tuesday, January 3, 2017. He inspired and impacted our community greatly during years as a child-care executive here at Boys Town.
 

Dr. David Coughlin was dedicated to education, obtaining his Ph.D. in Rehabilitation Counseling from Syracuse University. During his lifetime, Dr. Coughlin was a counselor at San Quentin Prison in California; an adjunct faculty member at both the University of Nebraska and Kansas University; and authored/co-authored more than 15 professional publications, including Issues in Quality Child Care: A Boys Town Perspective.
 

Dr. Coughlin worked closely with a group of youth care pioneers, including Montrose Wolfe and Lonnie Phillips, to develop the Family Home model that was first introduced to Boys Town in 70s.  
 

Dr. Coughlin began his Boys Town career in 1974. While at Boys Town, Dr. Coughlin was a Deputy Director responsible for all youth care issues. In this position, he oversaw the Boys Town residential campus; Boys Town's family-based programs; Boys  Town's National Resource and Training Center; and national expansion establishing the affiliate sites. By overseeing more than 75 on-campus residential youth care homes, Dr. Coughlin was doing his part to serve 550 youths at a time.
 

After retiring from Boys Town in 1998, Dr. Coughlin continued to follow his passion and serve disadvantaged youth through his superintendent position at Mooseheart, which provides children from troubled families with a stable, secure, and nurturing environment.
 

For his service at Boys Town and to the communities he loved, we give thanks for Dr. Coughlin and the work he did. His accomplishments in the field, his dedication to education, and his love of giving back directly reflected Father Flanagan's vision for Boys Town; for this, we are grateful for the work of Dr. David Coughlin.
 

"The most powerful teaching organism is the family" - Dr. David Coughlin