John Phillip Cogley

John Phillip Cogley

Dec. 31, 2022

The Cogley family wants to share the passing of their beloved John Philip

Cogley, affectionally known as Papa John and Johnny. He died suddenly

at the age of seventy-seven on Sat., Dec. 31, 2022 while visiting

family for the holidays.

Johnny was a true Irishman who had a twinkle in his eye, an impish smile, and the gift of gab. As his oldest granddaughter said "he touched a lot of peoples' hearts by his funny personality."

John was a professor at Eastern Washington University for twenty-seven

years heading the Therapeutic Recreation program and six years as chair

of the Physical Education, Health, and Recreation department. After retirement he continued his distance education program to assist hundreds of students to qualify for certification in Therapeutic Recreation. He was a passionate educator who guided students of all ages to achieve their goals. In the 80s, John was instrumental in creating the adaptive ski program at Mt. Spokane. Recently one of his youngest grandsons participated in a similar program in California. Such is the beauty of life coming full circle.

Johnny was a country boy at heart. Born and raised on property in Council Bluffs, Iowa known as Cogleywood where he loved to hunt, fish, and ride his horse. Eventually John and his wife, Patty, bought property outside of Cheney, Wash. where they lived for thirty-four years raising their children: Philip, Christopher, Ryan, and Meghan. As a dad, he loved supporting his kids in sports, 4-H programs, and taking them hunting, fishing, boating, and riding dirt bikes. During the past eight years, John and Patty retired in Coeur d'Alene, Idaho.

John is survived by his wife Patty, of forty-six years, three sons and one

daughter: Phil (Lori) Cogley; Chris (Sheri) Cogley; Ryan (Christie)

Cogley; Meghan (Michael) Dehdashtian. Papa John had nine

grandchildren who were his pride and joy: Melissa and Trevor; Kien and

Dillon; Carter and Kenleigh; Alessia, Hudson, and Andrew John. Their

ages range from nineteen to five years of age.

John is also survived by his sister Kathy Buchanan.

In lieu of flowers, please consider donating to Special Olympics Washington,

http://impact.sowa.org/northwest or Therapeutic Recreation (adaptive

ski program) of Spokane, WA http://www.spokaneparksfoundation.org/donate.

On June 3rd , there will be a Celebration of Life at Eastern Washington

University. To RSVP and share photos and stories, please visit

https://

everloved.com/life-of/john-cogley/