God’s Word and their love keep Cokers together
PROTECTED CONTENT
If you’re a current subscriber, log in below. If you would like to subscribe, please click the subscribe tab above.
Username and Password Help
Please enter your email and we will send you a password reset link.
Nearly 60 years of love between Frank and Judith Coker are credited to the Bible and their trust in God to keep their marriage strong.
“The scripture I live by for my marriage is in Ephesians, where the Apostle Paul instructs wives to reverence their husbands,” Judith said. “God showed me that I need to reverence Frank in every way.”
Judith said she met Frank in 1966 through a co-worker when she worked at Publix in Bradenton, Florida. Her co-worker said he had a friend he wanted her to meet. The day that Frank went to the store to meet Judith, he had a friend with him. Judith saw them standing at the end of one of the store aisles and thought one of them was very handsome. She said she thought to herself that she hoped he was the one her co-worker wanted her to meet. And it was.
Frank had just gotten out of the Army when he met Judith. He was 25 and she was 21. They dated for about eight months, then married on August 22, 1966.
“Looking back, I see we were just kids,” said Judith.
After almost 60 years, the Cokers agree marriage has its challenges, ups and downs, good days and bad days, but through it all, God has been good to them.
“Our marriage has been blessed. We have had good health and raised a good family. God has been good to us,” the couple said. “We have four sons and five grandchildren and we’ve owned two businesses.”
Frank started his own aluminum foundry business in Orlando, Florida from 1971 to 1976, making products for Disney World, Sea World and the space industry. In 1980, he started the same business in Bradenton, Florida, retiring in 2000 after 20 years.
Judith served 40 years as a classroom teacher and has been designated as a Florida Master Teacher. She has also held the position of principal and participated as a keynote speaker at national education conferences. Her educational credits include studies at Saint Leo College, Florida State University, and the University of South Florida. She is an ordained minister in the Church of God and has traveled extensively in the southeastern states to minister in churches and hold training seminars for schools. However, Judith says she considers her most important positions to be that of a wife, mother and grandmother.
Frank and Judith were raised differently when it comes to food. Judith was raised in Florida on seafood and tropical cuisine with a heavy influence on Cuban food. Frank, on the other hand, was born and raised in North Georgia.
“Frank wondered when we first got married why I didn’t cook pinto beans,” explained Judith, “but I didn’t even know what a pinto bean was. Georgia cooking was something I had never learned.”
Judith relayed a comical story that happened in the early years of their marriage.
“I was packing Frank’s lunch one day and I wanted to really impress him,” she said. “So, I made him a bologna sandwich with mayonnaise, mustard, lettuce, tomato and onions. I couldn’t wait for him to come home from work so he could tell me how impressed he was with his lunch. When he came home, I asked him if he enjoyed his bologna sandwich. He said that I forgot something on his sandwich. I forgot the bologna. We have laughed about that incident for almost 60 years.”
After Frank retired in 2000, the couple bought a cottage in Florida and built a vacation home in Pikeville, Tennessee.
“We were passing through Pikeville on a trip and thought it looked like a nice place to build a vacation home,” explained Frank, “but we didn’t use it much, so we eventually sold it.”
In 2008, Frank and Judith moved to Dunlap and built a home, where they currently reside. The couple said they love being in Dunlap.
“We have, especially, enjoyed the seasons,” they said, “which we never experienced in Florida. And since we’ve moved up here, all four of our boys have moved fairly close to us, so we’re all together and it’s wonderful. We have a wonderful church family at Lighthouse Pentecostal Church and wonderful fellowship.”
For Frank, moving to Dunlap was like coming home since he was raised in Georgia. He still has family here, sisters and nieces and nephews.
The couple agree their greatest accomplishment over the years of marriage are their four boys.
“They love the Lord and take care of their families,” Frank said. “Growing up, we taught them to be good workers. They worked with me in the aluminum foundry business and we gave them chores at home.”
Frank said, “I get a call every Father’s Day from my boys, thanking me for how they were raised and all they learned from me. And they still call me and Judith for advice. That’s something you can’t put a price on. God has been good to us.”
