It's not in Nevada

Bill and Jean Coker lived next door to my Mom & Dad for as long as I can remember. 

The Cokerosa

It’s not in Nevada, it’s by the lake in TN,

A small piece of land, called the “Cokerosa”, you see,

Bill Coker has 3 sons, just like Ben Cartwright,

And he was always packing a pistol, he kept out of sight,

He was a modern-day cowboy, who loved John Wayne,

Riding his golf cart like the Duke rode his horse on the plain,

A WW II Navy veteran who survived an explosion at sea,

He cursed like a sailor, but not too offensive was he,

He always waved at me and nicknamed me “Sport”,

Jean was his wife and she had a witty retort,

She would call over to our house and predictably say:

“This is your damn neighbor, are you doing okay?”

At the hospital, she devoted many hours volunteering,

Her arthritic hands were painful, her resolve was endearing,

Our neighbors, Bill and Jean, were an unusual pair,

Hard on the exterior, but with hearts full of care,

In 2015, we lost them both as their health failed,

Both were 89, but their memories prevailed,

The land Coker called “The Cokerosa” is no longer the same,

A tour of it on his golf cart was Bill Coker’s claim to fame,

It’s not in Nevada, it’s by the lake in TN,

A small piece of land, called the “Cokerosa”, you see

Tammy Harvey

Written:  8/23/2017