Lill and Harold Coker at right
photo by Wes Schultz
With the passing of one of Chattanooga's finest citizens, all young men should admire Harold Coker's legacy and all older men should follow his lead.
As a young man who has run for public office, I have received both a good bit of criticism and a great deal of encouragement by leaders in our community. But Harold Coker, and his sweet wife Lill, offered only encouragement and prayers from the day I sat and talked with them in their living room as a zealous 24-year-old seeking to serve in Congress.
Harold was 57 years my elder -- not exactly the kind of person you may have expected to spur along an ambitious young lad.
Too often we expect older men like Harold to have developed a certain cynicism and grumpiness.
Harold, however, had taken a different tact to aging. He became a wonderful and invaluable sage. He had chosen to empower those who would come behind him, rather than slow them down.
After all, he had done it all. Raised a good family, built a world-class business, served his community in elected office and in every other way through tremendous generosity. He even starred in a TV show in his eighties.
That life had made him content and fulfilled as an old man. His attitude seemed to reflect a desire to help many more young men make their journey through life as enjoyable as his. Rather than live with regret that his life on Earth was nearing the end, Harold chose to charge ahead full steam -- working on his pristine collection of antique cars, remaining involved in politics and loving Lill, who made him seem all the more impressive and successful.
For those reasons Harold Coker was one of the only men who has reminded me of the first sage I knew, my own grandfather, Don Wamp.
Harold would often rib me that in all his decades of political involvement, no campaign, not Fred Thompson's nor Bob Corker's, had ever cost him as much money in donations as mine. As usual, even that was said with a smile.
But that's not what I will remember years from now about Harold Coker. It was his gracefulness as a sage and his willingness to give encouraging words that left an indelible mark on me. Fortunately for the Coker Family, Harold's legacy is one that will last. And the impression he made on young men will impact our community for decades to come.
Weston Wamp