Burl Coghill

Burl Ray Coghill 3-17-1937 - 7-17-2014 Born March 17, 1937 in Sedro Woolley, Washington, the second of four children to Lawrence and Edith Coghill. Passed away on July 17, 2014 in Visalia, California at The age of 77 years. He graduated from West Seattle High School in 1955 and began On a career of service industry positions, warehouseman, fork lift operator, service station attendant, retail clothing sales, route sales and paper routes. He married Jean Sellars in 1956 and had one daughter, Kimberly. They divorced on 1959. Burl was hospitalized at the University of Washington Medical Center where he underwent a surgical procedure for Crone's disease that hadn't been done before, When explained to him he said why not? During that month long stay he met Marjorie Achterberg, who was one of the nurses caring for him. They married in1962 and had two children, Stephanie and Stephen. He began his work in the car wash industry in Visalia at the Towne Center Gas and Wash. The equipment was new and innovative and drew the attention of other car wash companies, as a result he continued in management at Stockton, Madera, Lake Tahoe and Sacramento. He later bought and operated a Hydraulic Jack and Repair shop in Sacramento. In 1987 he sold the business and returned to Visalia. He worked for several hydraulic and tool businesses until his retirement. Burl had a great many interests, bowling, skiing, back packing and 4 Wheeling. He was an avid 49'ers fan, holding season tickets for a number of years. He was particularly proud of his Toyota rig equipped for off-roading on wilderness mountain terrains. He made many treks over the Barrett Lake and Rubicon trails in Northern California as well as our local trails, Swamp Lake, Dusy Ershim and Coyote. Although he may have been the "old man" on the trail he kept up with his surrogate sons David Skaggs and John Loveall. He enrolled in an evening cabinetry class at COS to gain some expertize so he could remodel his kitchen; took about 13 years and many other projects in between before he Completed the remodel. This opened up a whole new avocation for him. He participated in the COS home building projects and in the first Habitat for Humanity house done by the Methodist Church of which he was a member. He worked on seven different homes, one of which he did all of the cabinets. He was especially grateful to his instructors Jeff Dearborn and Dennis Lehman for allowing him to participate in the class as a volunteer aid. He so enjoyed working with wood he wished he'd started earlier. At the Methodist Church Burl met an architect, Jay Moring, who became another mentor finding all sorts of interesting projects which kept him busy. Gone, but not forgotten he most assuredly will be missed; his works will serve as a legacy. He is survived by his loving wife, Marjorie, daughters Kimberly Hedges (Rob) and Stephanie Weathers (David), eight grandchildren Tony, Tanya, Gregory Borg, Kaela, Laura, Joshua, Daniel and Ezekial Weathers, eight great grandchildren and one great, great grandchild. He is also survived by brothers Lawrence and Mark and sister Ellen. A memorial service to celebrate his life will be held at the Visalia United Methodist Church on July 26, at 11 am, with reception following at the Church. Arrangements completed by Salser and Dillard Funeral Chapel. In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to Rubicon Trail Foundation (for the preservation of the trail) P.O. Box 2188, Placerville, CA 95667 or to their website www Rubicon Trail Foundation.org or to the Visalia United Methodist Church, 5200 w. Caldwell Ave., Visalia, CA 93291.

Burl Coghill

March 17, 2014 - July 17, 2014