John lived a life that was both wide and deep. To know John was to know a man who moved through the world with a hammer in his truck and a joke ready on his lips. He lifted the lives of everyone around him.

He understood the recipe of a good life: the shot may not always hit the net, but life is found in the rebound. He lived with a relentless optimism that said when you get knocked down, you shake the dust off and you get back up. There was no room for regrets in his world. Instead, there was room for his family on the boat, watching his grandchildren at every game and for the shared joy of cheering on the Buffalo Bills or the Carolina Hurricanes.

John never hesitated. If a friend was stranded with a flat tire or a dead battery, John was already there. If someone in the grocery store looked like they needed a hand, he gave it. He possessed a rare, beautiful blend of street smarts and handyman wisdom: a man who could fix anything but cared most about fixing someone’s bad day. This scholarship is for those who carry that same spirit. It is for the builders, the helpers and the ones who know that the best way to live is with gusto and a heart wide open.

Donations in John's memory will be used by Cancer for College to provide need-based college scholarships to cancer survivors in the Carolinas and around the country.

About the cause...

Cancer for College provides financial support to the cancer community in the form of need-based college scholarships, educational experiences, and medical debt relief. The mission has been simple, if you are a cancer survivor with a household income of $150K or less and attending an accredited college, university or trade school, you can apply for help.

Since 1993, Cancer for College has awarded over $9M in support to over 2,000 cancer survivors from across the United States.

In Memory of John Coakley