William F. Coghill

1923 - 2016

Col. William "Bill" Coghill, 92, passed away April 28, 2016. He was a second generation Alaskan who grew up in Nenana. After two years at the University of Alaska, Bill received an appointment to West Point, where he graduated in 1947. Bill served in the Army at bases in the U.S., Japan and in Korea where he received combat wounds in August 1950 resulting in the loss of one leg. After 15 months at Walter Reed Hospital, he was returned to duty with the Finance Corps.
He retired from active duty at Fort Richardson in 1975 as chief of staff of the Army Forces in Alaska.
Bill received many military honors including the Purple Heart, Silver Star, Bronze Star and the Legion of Honor.
After his military retirement, Bill joined the Alaska Railroad and served until 1986 as assistant general manager. Bill also held a master of business administration from Harvard. Bill has been active in the Alaska Association for Historic Preservation and was raised to Master Mason in 1954. He is a licensed lay Eucharistic Minister in the Episcopal Church.
Bill also held offices in several other professional organizations. To promote Americanism and patriotism, Bill developed a program telling about the history of flags in our country. At the request of many organizations, he presented this program over 70 times while wearing a colonial army uniform.
Bill is survived by Gerry, his wife of 68 years, and his two sons, Bill and wife Jenni, of Soldotna, and Tom and wife Jean, of Anchorage.
He was preceded in death by his brother, Robert "Bob" Coghill, and is survived by his brother, Lt. Gov. John "Jack"  Coghill (retired), and extended family members living throughout Alaska.
Bill will be buried at the Fort Richardson National Cemetery in Anchorage.
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