Albert Steinhart Coker, Jr., aged 84, went to be with the Lord on Friday evening, January 26, 2024, surrounded by his three adoring daughters. He was a beloved father, grandfather, uncle, cousin, colleague, physician, and friend.
Albert was born to Lillian Johnson Coker and Albert Steinhart Coker, Sr., on July 4, 1939, in Greenville, AL, where he grew up surrounded by family, friends, and cousins who were as close to him as brothers. He was an Eagle Scout and played clarinet in the high school band, which frequently had to march around his collie, Trixie, who would escape the backyard, race to the football field, and attempt to “herd” the marching band during half-time.
Albert graduated from Greenville High School in 1956 and then majored in pharmacology at Auburn University, where he was a member of Alpha Tau Omega fraternity and graduated with the class of 1960. He received his medical degree from the University of Alabama School of Medicine in Birmingham in 1965, followed by an internship at Vanderbilt University Hospital and residency at University Hospital in Birmingham, serving as Chief Resident. A captain in the US Air Force, Albert served for one year in a military hospital in Korat, Thailand, before returning to Birmingham for a fellowship in Infectious Diseases. Dr. Coker was only the second Fellow in the state of Alabama to be thus trained and the first to enter private practice. In 1973, he became Mobile’s first Infectious Disease specialist upon joining the Diagnostic and Medical Clinic, where he served his patients faithfully for 41 years, before retiring in 2014.
While Albert loved the practice of medicine, his other passions included wildlife photography, travel, jazz music, reading, Atlanta Braves baseball, Auburn football, being in the kitchen (cooking, baking, grilling…), and most of all, his family. He also loved his church, Dauphin Way United Methodist, where he was a faithful member for over 40 years.
Albert was preceded in death by his parents, Albert and Lillian Coker, his nephew William Tennent Lee, and his niece Beth Lee McCormick. He is survived by his beloved sister Marjorie Coker Agnew (Lewis), daughters Jennifer Wilson (Scott), Leah Huffman (Mark), and Emily Wedgewood (Stephen), and eight grandchildren whom he adored: Crawford, Ella, and Harry Wilson, Asher and William Huffman, and Susannah, Edward, and Lydia Wedgewood.
A memorial service for Dr. Coker will be held in Mobile, AL, on Monday, February 19, 2024 at 11:00 AM, at Dauphin Way United Methodist Church, 1507 Dauphin Street. In lieu of flowers, Albert wished that anyone who wanted to honor his memory please make a donation to St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital in Memphis, TN.
