This is a SUMMARY of Edgar's life. Regular posts to the blog will follow a specific theme or period of his life at a time. This is a new blog (created June 2021) so there is not a lot of material as yet. Right now, the theme in the blog is Edgar's time at Jefferson College, with emphasis on his participation on the football squad. Other aspects of his life will be emphasized and explored in due course. In the meantime, you have, below, a summary of the key points!
14 April 1905: Edgar Anthony Coco, Jr. was born in Long Bridge, LA.
Of the seven children of Edgar and Benita Coco, he was one of seven children. He was the third son & the fifth child overall.
When he was 13, his oldest sibling, Elmo, died. Elmo was not even 22 years old, and he had only just gotten married to Miss Edene Broussard at St. Francis Xavier Catholic Cathedral in Alexandria.
From 1923 to 1924, he was a student at Jefferson College in Convent, LA.
"Victory was sweet," Jefferson College's LH (left halfback) man, Edgar Coco 🏈 (Jefferson College was a gentlemen's college in Convent, LA.)https://t.co/MZcOEZtz3w 📚#americansportshistory #edgaranthonycocojr
— heavycrownpress (Ashley Rovira) (@heavycrownpress) June 11, 2021
In 1925, at the age of 20, he married Doris Roy.
His father passed away in 1930 when he was 25.
In 1933, his eldest child, Louise Bertha Coco, was born. He had another daughter, Stella Marie, in 1937.
In 1939, he gained a son, named André Dominique Coco.
In 1940, he registered for the WWII Draft.
He had another son, called Pierre, in 1944.
He was elected Mayor of Marksville in 1954, at the age of 49.
As Mayor, he instituted the still-thriving tradition of the Easter Egg Knocking Festival in the town square.
He was the Mayor for a four-year term. He was also an Alderman of Marksville for 16 years. Among other distinguished roles, Edgar was President of the Marksville Lions, a district governor of the Marksville Lions International, a deputy Grand Knight of the Knights of Columbus, President of the Democratic Association of Louisiana, and a business owner of two businesses: the Marksville Feed and Wholesale Store, and the Edgar A. Coco Insurance Agency. He shared the operation of the former with his wife, and she eventually passed on its management to their daughter Stella. Edgar's son André took over the insurance agency.
In 1959, at the age of 54, Edgar joined the gubernatorial ticket for Earl Kemp Long as the "insurance man" (hopeful to be Insurance Commissioner for the state under Governor Long.) Edgar campaigned with Long and brought both his ever-present grin and harmonica on the campaign trail. 1959 was a mixed bag of celebration and mourning for Edgar. His brother Philogene died in that year, but it was also the year of the birth of his grandson David (Louise's son) and granddaughter Josette (Stella's daughter.)
There is a lot of interesting information about Edgar's time on the campaign trail, and that will be explored in this blog in due course. His nephew Benjamin Clyde Bennett (the son of his sister Nellie Rose) was quoted in Jack McGuire's book, Win the Race Or Die Trying: Uncle Earl's Last Hurrah, describing the relationship between Earl Long and Edgar Coco. Earl Long had a personal liking for Edgar's high sense of fun and spontaneity.
He died at the age of 60 in 1965, leaving behind his wife, four children, and several grandchildren.
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