William M. Coggins, beloved husband of recently deceased Edna H. Coggins, of Ossining, NY passed away on Monday, May 21, 2018. He was born in Tallassee, AL, on September 25, 1927, to Alberta Ware and William Coggins, as the second of three children.
William came to New York City at age 13 to live with his elder sister in Harlem. He made his own way in New York and worked as a Tier-lift Truck Operator until entering the Army in 1952 during the Korean War. Following his Honorable discharge from the Army William found work with General Motors in Tarrytown, NY on the Assembly Line. He would remain an employee at General Motors for 37 years.
William was a handsome and kind man with a warm smile, standing a robust 5 feet 10 inches. He was very well thought of by family, co-workers and friends. His family affectionately called him “Kent.” His friends called him “Willie”. The children who would come to develop such deep respect for him called him “Uncle Willie” or “Mr. Bill.” But the love of his life, Edna H. Simmons, always called him “William.”
William met Edna not long after beginning work at GM. They married in January, 1967, and lived at the Riverton apartments in Harlem. Eventually they moved in the early 1970’s to Granada Crescent in White Plains, NY, to be in proximity of William’s work at Tarrytown. Edna, who was a similarly longstanding employee at New York Telephone, would also relocate her work to Westchester County. In 1986 they moved to Hudson Watch in Ossining, NY where they have lived ever since. They found new friends easily in Westchester County and established themselves through social and civic activity. Edna and William built a happy life together for over the 61 years, sharing generously with many in need.
The couple had no children. Instead they became sister and brother, aunt and uncle, grandmother and grandfather to many family members and friends over the years. William was particularly close to the late Gerald Chisholm and the late Christina Simmons, who were his nephew and niece.
William had two great sources of enjoyment in his life besides his wife Edna, he loved cars and he loved sports, notably football. His great pleasure was being on the open road with his wife, “throwing down”, as he would describe his penchant for fast and long distance driving. They were accustomed to visiting relatives and friends in New England, in the South and in Chicago behind the wheel of his many cars. When at home, however, he enjoyed the company of family and friends who were as enamored of sports as he was. When he was not watching games, he enjoyed talking about past and future games on the phone with friends. He was widely known as someone who put his money where his mouth was in support of favorite teams, and expected his friends to do the same.
William will be remembered and dearly mourned by many friends, neighbors and co-workers at General Motors, as well as in New York City, White Plains and Ossining. He is survived by his cousins, Lonnie Ware and Milton Ware, his aunt, Jessie Ware, his nieces, JoAnne Witherspoon, Antoinette Vassar, Tina Lewis, Raylajohn Stokes. His niece, Catherine Simmons and his nephew Gregory Chisholm.
The Entire Staff of Lee's Funeral Home, LLC respects that the family of William Coggins entrusted the care of their loved one to us, and that they value the level of service & attention our funeral home provides. We are honored, in turn, to provide comfort, assistance and service to the family of William Coggins during their time of bereavement.
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