predecessor successor death_date birth_place death_place religion party office birth_date order term_start spouse industry article_title term_end name
clarence lightner isabella cannon 25 august 2011 iredell county , north carolina raleigh , north carolina christian democratic mayor of raleigh , north carolina 10 january 1921 31st october 1975 frances katherine lyon coggins construction jyles coggins
 october 1977 jyles jackson coggins
jyles coggins

jyles jackson coggins -lrb- january 10 , 1921 -- august 25 , 2011 -rrb- was an american politician who served in the north carolina general assembly as a state representative and senator .
he was elected as the 31st mayor of raleigh , north carolina in 1975 , serving one , two-year term .
the total population of raleigh expanded by more than three times during his career in elected office .
coggins was born on january 10 , 1921 , in iredell county , north carolina , where he was raised on a farm .
he attended college at university of north carolina at chapel hill , north carolina state university and duke university .
however , coggins never earned a bachelor 's degree , which was something he regretted , according to his family .
coggins enlisted in the united states marines during world war ii , serving as a bomber pilot , which earned him ten military awards including two distinguished flying crosses .
he became known as `` bomber jack '' coggins to his fellow marines during the war .
coggins returned to his native north carolina in 1946 following the end of world war ii .
he soon established a small construction company , which grew into a larger business by the early 1960s .
coggins remained in the construction industry for more than sixty years .
by his own account , coggins held a number of former jobs before becoming successful in construction , including sales , janitor , airplace factory inspector , and railroad brakeman .
he was responsible for the construction of several landmark buildings in the raleigh region , including raleigh memorial park 's mausoleum , which stands seven stories tall , and both the beckanna apartments and several commercial developments along the city 's glenwood avenue .
coggins simultaneously launched his political career in the early 1960s as well .
coggins affiliated himself as a political conservative within the democratic party , often voting against the party line while in the state legislature .
he was first elected to the north carolina house of representatives in 1963 , serving one term in office .
coggins was then elected to the north carolina senate in 1965 .
he won re-election to the senate in 1967 .
in 1975 , jyles coggins was elected the mayor of raleigh , north carolina .
coggins was popular while as mayor , though his sometimes strained relationship with the city council led to a challenge during his 1977 re-election campaign by a grassroots candidate , isabella cannon .
cannon , who was 73 years old at the time , was nicknamed the `` little old lady in tennis shoes . ''
in an upset , cannon defeated coggins in the 1977 mayoral election .
jyles coggins died at his home in the west raleigh neighborhood of the city on august 25 , 2011 , at the age of 90 .
he was survived by five daughters - rebecca coggins-gibson , anna coggins , debby schmidt , jaci gholizadeh and judy coggins - 15 grandchildren , and 1 great-grandson .
his wife , frances katherine lyon coggins , died on february 1 , 1995 .
