Charles Edward Coggins, 82, of Birmingham, passed away Sunday, July 2, 2023, at Fair Haven Skilled Nursing Facility following an extended illness.
Funeral services will be held at 2 p.m. Saturday, July 8, 2023, at First Baptist Church Dothan with Pastor Scott Davis officiating. A private burial will follow in Gardens of Memory Cemetery with Glover Funeral Home directing. The family will receive friends at the church immediately prior to the service from 12:30 p.m. until 1:45 p.m. Charles was born Dec. 14, 1940, in Clanton, Alabama to Royal Joseph and Maggie O’dell Driver Coggins. He graduated from Chilton County High School in 1959 and joined the Army, serving as a Military Policeman, before going to college with the help of the GI Bill. He was a proud graduate of the University of Alabama with a degree in Commerce and Business Administration. Charles worked as a certified public accountant for the national firm Deloitte, Haskins, and Sells for several years after graduating from college. Following his career as a CPA, he was employed as the Vice President of Administration and Finance for AAA Cooper Transportation based in Dothan until he retired in 2004.
While in Dothan, Charles immersed himself in the community and became a role model for volunteerism and selfless giving in support of the city he loved. He served as President of the Dothan Rotary Club, Assistant District Governor District 6880 of Rotary International, Board member of the Houston County Healthcare Authority, Chairman of the Wallace Community College Foundation Board of Trustees, Chairman of Dothan By Design, Board member of South Trust Bank and Wachovia Bank, Wiregrass United Way Board of Trustees and Chairman, Chairman of the Education Foundation for Dothan’s Future, Community Foundation of Southeast Alabama, AL-FL Council of the Boy Scouts of America, Dothan Area Convention and Visitor’s Bureau, Troy University Dothan’s Continuing Education Advisory Council and Community Advisory Board, the Board of the National Accounting and Finance Council of the American Trucking Association, the Board of the Association of the United States Army and Chairman of the 1996 Olympic Torch Relay in Dothan.
Charles served in several roles for the Dothan Area Chamber of Commerce including Chairman of the Board of Directors, Director of Governmental Affairs and Chairman of the Air Service Task Force and Workforce Development Committee, Treasurer and Vice Chair for Economic Development, Vice Chair for Community Affairs, the Health Care Task Force, the Surface Transportation Committee, and the Legislative Affairs Committee.
Charles was the recipient of numerous awards including the first Rotary Centennial Service Award for Professional Excellence, Rotary Paul Harris Fellow, the first Chamber of Commerce Distinguished Service Award, and the Troy State University Dothan Community Service Award. The Charles E. Coggins Leadership Scholarship was established in his honor at Wallace Community College.
While his family was his first love, a close second was his passion for cycling, which he began in 1986 riding almost daily for the next 30 years. He developed a close-knit group of friends in the cycling community in Dothan and Cullman where he retired on Smith Lake in 2009. At age 65, Charles was the oldest in a group of cyclists in the America Bicycle Fast America South 2006 program. The group biked 2,901 miles from Costa Mesa, California to Savannah, Georgia in 27 days. Charles was inducted into the Alabama Sports and Adventure Hall of Fame in 2022.
And if that is not enough, Charles was also a licensed pilot (taught by his wife) and a scuba diver.
Charles is predeceased by his wife, Minnie Wade Coggins, and daughter, Christie Coggins Dover, as well as his parents and seven siblings.
Survivors include his daughter, Carla Coggins Gilroy (Mike), grandson, Joseph Gilroy, granddaughters Caroline Gilroy and Sarah Frances Gilroy all of Vestavia Hills, Alabama; granddaughter, Crimsynn Dover, and grandson Forrest Dover (Christina) both of Birmingham; granddaughter Courtney Smith (Nick) of Ypsilanti, Michigan; and two beautiful great-granddaughters, Ella Grey Smith, and Stella Kate Dover.
In lieu of flowers, please consider donating to the Dothan Rotary Club or Alzheimer’s Association of Alabama. Or continue Charles’ legacy of service by getting involved with an organization that inspires you in your community.
Glover Funeral Home has been entrusted with the arrangements. Please sign the guestbook online at www.gloverfuneral.com.
