
                         Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: SUNDAY, October 10, 1993                   TAG: 9310100170
SECTION: VIRGINIA                    PAGE: C-3   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: Associated Press
DATELINE: CRAIGSVILLE, W.VA.                                LENGTH: Short

MINISTER WHO BUILT ROADSIDE `CROSSES OF MERCY' DIES AT 68

The Rev. Bernard Coffindaffer, a former businessman whose spiritual awakening led him to erect roadside crosses around the world, has died of a heart attack. He was 68.

Coffindaffer, a Methodist minister and World War II veteran, received national attention with his quest to cover the world with the trios of one gold cross flanked by two blue crosses.

He said a spirit appeared to him after open-heart surgery in 1982 and told him to begin erecting the "crosses of mercy." Coffindaffer spent more than $3 million over 10 years on them. He died Friday.

In a recent interview, Coffindaffer said he erected 1,842 cross clusters in 29 states, the Philippines and Zambia. The first ensemble, which stood 25 feet high, was erected in 1984 about 65 miles north of Charleston.

"The crosses are to remind people to remember that Jesus was crucified on a cross at Calvary for our sins and he will soon return," Coffindaffer said.

Coffindaffer estimated he spent $843 per cluster, wiping out money he made after selling his coal-washing mill. He spent $2 million of his own money on his mission; the rest came from a nonprofit group, Cast Thy Bread.

Jacob Young, a filmmaker at a public television station in Morgantown, made a documentary about Coffindaffer called "Point Man for God."

"Bernard worked very, very hard to make his peace with the Lord," Young said. "I hope that he achieved his goal and that he is sweeping the streets of heaven. That's what he told me his goal was."

by CNB