Jyles Coggins

Jyles Jackson Coggins (January 10, 1921 – August 25, 2011) was an American real estate developer and politician who served in the North Carolina House of Representatives and North Carolina Senate.

Coggins was born to a poor family in 1921 in Iredell County, North Carolina, United States.

Jyles Coggins was born on January 10, 1921, in Mooresville, Iredell County, North Carolina, United States to James Lee Coggins and Jeanette Arney.

He was the third of five children in a poor family.

Both of his parents worked at the Kannapolis Cotton Mill.

When Coggins was thirteen years old his father died, and he moved to Statesville to work on a farm, sending a portion of his income back to his family to support it.

He moved to Chapel Hill in 1939 to pursue a university education, but dropped out due to ill health and took up various jobs.

He graduated from Iredell County's Central High School in 1939.

Coggins hitchhiked from his family's farm to Chapel Hill to attend the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

He studied at the school from 1939 until 1940, when he was forced to drop out due to ill health.

He enlisted in the United States Marine Corps in 1942 and fought in World War II as a bomber pilot.

He then worked a variety of jobs before enlisting in the United States Marine Corps in June 1942.

Seeking to become an aviator, he undertook training courses in Chapel Hill; Anacostia, Maryland; and Pensacola, Florida, and was commissioned as a lieutenant on August 17.

He completed his operational flight training on November 6 and was subsequently sent to San Diego to join American forces moving out for deployment in World War II.

Coggins served as a bomber pilot and fought in the South Pacific, earning ten military awards, including two Distinguished Flying Crosses.

Coggins married Frances Katherine Lyon on September 24, 1943 in Jacksonville, Florida.

They had five daughters together.

Coggins was a Presbyterian Christian, and was a member of a masonic lodge, the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks, the American Legion, and the Raleigh Civitan Club.

Coggins founded the Coggins Construction Company.

His first projects were small duplexes.

Over time Coggins gradually expanded his building work to include apartment complexes and government buildings.

Following his discharge in 1946, Coggins moved to Raleigh to resume his education.

He shortly thereafter abandoned his studies to start his own construction company.

Over time the business grew and completed projects across the southeastern United States, and Coggins became a millionaire.

Coggins became known as "Bomber Jack" to his fellow Marines during the war and garnered the rank of First Lieutenant before he was discharged in 1946.

Coggins returned to North Carolina and enrolled in North Carolina State College in Raleigh, building his own duplex to reside in while he pursued his studies.

Anticipating a post-war construction boom, he dropped out in 1947 to pursue a career in contracting.

In 1963 he, a conservative Democrat, was elected to the North Carolina House of Representatives.

Two years later he was elected to the North Carolina Senate.

Over the course of his legislative career he advocated for the disabled and opposed liquor, pornography, and coed dormitories on state university campuses.

He also frequently disregarded the wishes of state Democratic leaders, earning a reputation as a maverick.

Coggins left the Senate in 1971 and unsuccessfully sought a seat in the U.S. House of Representatives the following year.

He served as the Mayor of Raleigh, North Carolina from 1975 until 1977.

Coggins was elected Mayor of Raleigh in 1975.

During his tenure, the Raleigh City Council was split evenly between members aligned with community and environmental activists who wanted to limit the city's growth and others who represented business interests and sought to promote development.

The division brought about frequent clashing between Coggins—who had an abrasive, uncompromising style and supported further development in Raleigh—and members of the council.

He was challenged in his 1977 reelection bid by Isabella Cannon, who ran at the behest of a coalition of community activists.

Coggins frequently attacked the coalition throughout the campaign.

Despite having the endorsement of Raleigh's two newspapers and outspending his opponent, he lost the election.

He died on August 25, 2011.