by Jessica Taloney
Published: Wed, September 16, 2009 - 3:47 pm CST
CENTURY, Florida - A man who spent his life taking care of forests was killed this week when a tree fell on him.Coy Rhea, 69, died Tuesday morning in the front yard of the home he and his wife, Esterline, rent on Gilmore Road in Century, Florida.
Three men, who were cutting down the 40 foot tree, used a rope and a tractor to pull it towards the woods, but the rope broke and the tree fell the wrong direction.
"It was just an accident," said Kathy Brady, who along with her mother ran to try to help her father. Brady says her dad had a slight pulse, and a nurse, who owns the property, performed CPR.
Family and friends gathered at Rhea's home Wednesday to help plan funeral services. Brady described her dad as a Christian man who rarely missed a Sunday in church.
Rhea worked 29 years with the National Parks Service in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. He and his wife recently moved to Florida to be with Brady as she battled breast cancer. Rhea's wife was diagnosed with the same disease just a few months later.
Rhea's family is planning two services, one in Flomaton and another in Tennessee.
New Escambia County Sheriff
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