Myra was a member of St. Peter’s Cathedral Catholic Church in Belleville. She attended Central Methodist College where she fulfilled class requirements to take and pass the National Examination in Medical Technology in 1953. She worked at hospital laboratories in several cities around the U.S. while her husband, John, was in the United States Army and earning his master’s degree.
Myra spent nearly 30 years in the pathology department at St. Elizabeth’s Hospital in Belleville, during which she earned her baccalaureate degree from McKendree University.
After her retirement, she joined her husband, John, as they worked for more than a decade as volunteers at two Florida state parks, Myakka River State Park and Highlands Hammock State Park. For 12 more years following her husband’s passing, she continued her park volunteer work (notably, as the character Grammy Cracker exploring Florida history for park guests). Myra started a program at Highlands Hammock to introduce park guests to examples of the park’s flora and fauna. She spent her life as an avid nature lover and passed on that love to her large family.
She was preceded in death by her beloved husband of 57 years, John H. Coggeshall, whom she married on June 8, 1951, in Webster Groves, MO. She was also preceded in death by her father, Donald Dally; her mother, Mary Dally; her sister, Ann Ogawa, and a granddaughter, Christine Marie Coggeshall Khachiev.
She is survived by her six sons, John Michael (Cathy Robison) Coggeshall of Clemson, S.C., Mark (Teresa Corcoran) Coggeshall of Englewood, FL., Stephen (Theresa) Coggeshall of San Diego, CA, Douglas Coggeshall of Belleville, IL., Timothy (Julie) Coggeshall of Belleville, IL., and Joseph (Jean) Ostermeier of Swansea, IL.; nine grandchildren, Elizabeth, Eric, James, Caroline, Morgan, Nathan, Daniel, Eileen, and Benjamin; and 14 great-grandchildren, Anya, Rafael, Annabel, Tara, Emma, Michael, Adeline, Seraphina, Isaac, Rose, Isabella, Zachariah, Emily, and Katherine. She is also survived by special family friends, Nancy Bakay and Robert Rosner, Linda Guetterman, Dennis Collins, Kevin and Alice Evans, Carla and Phil Sherwin, Rhonda Hatton, Ellen McKissick, George and Judy Molinaro, and rangers and volunteers at two Florida state parks.
The family is grateful to the Reverend Monsignor John T. Myler, and special friends and helpers Twana Turmon, Megan Hall, Hospice of Southern Illinois (Orange Team), and Right At Home caregivers.
Memorials may be made to the Belleville Area Humane Society, to Myakka River State Park, or Highlands Hammock State Park, both in Florida. Condolences may be expressed to the family online at www.rennerfh.com.
Visitation: Friends may visit from 4 to 8 p.m. Sunday, September 24, 2023, at George Renner & Sons Funeral Home, Belleville, IL, and from 9 to 10 a.m. Monday, September 25, 2023, at Cathedral of St. Peter Catholic Church, Belleville, IL.
Funeral: A Mass of Christian Burial will be held at 10 a.m. Monday, September 25, 2023, at Cathedral of St. Peter Catholic Church, Belleville, IL, with Msgr. John Myler officiating.
Burial will be at Green Mount Catholic Cemetery in Belleville, IL.