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\u201cMy father-in-law, Mr. Coble, was sitting on the front porch when we got back. I was scared to death. But they welcomed me, and were good to me,\u201d Muriel recalled. \u201cI\u2019d known Shorty since the fifth grade. We met at the Boonshill School after my family moved back from Texas. My daddy wasn\u2019t well, so we\u2019d moved to Kerryville for a drier climate, and my daddy worked at the Shriners Institute there. Shorty was in my class, and we sort of caught each other\u2019s eye. In fact, I failed that year, probably because my mind wasn\u2019t on studying. When he moved up to the high school, we had to see each other through the window.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
According to the Cobles\u2019 daughter, Kathy Shearon, \u201cMy desk at Boonshill had their initials carved in it. For their 50th wedding anniversary, my uncle gave them a school book where Daddy had written notes about Mama.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Before they celebrated their second anniversary, Shorty joined the Navy and was stationed in Detroit for boot camp. Afterward, he and Muriel spent three months in Auburn, Alabama, while he trained as a radioman. When he deployed overseas to serve on the USS Cooner, Muriel moved in with her parents and welcomed their first child, Jerry.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
When the Tennessee Valley Authority expanded into Lincoln County, it was Muriel and her father, Earl, who wired almost every house with electricity.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Muriel recalled, \u201cWhen the war ended, we finally had a radio. Mother, Daddy, and me were all huddled around listening.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Shorty served in the North Atlantic when the Germans surrendered and was stationed in Hawaii when Japan surrendered.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Their son, Jerry, said, \u201cDaddy was remarkable. Because of his experience in the Navy, he became a leader in Western Union and worked 39 years for them. He had very humble beginnings and never attended college, but he became their director of training.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Five years after Jerry was born, they welcomed Kathy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cOur daddy helped put up the very first Western Union satellite called \u2018Westar.\u2019 In April 2024, they celebrated the 50th anniversary of that launch,\u201d Kathy said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n In 2012, Shorty battled dementia. Muriel would instruct him to put his arms around her and to say \u201cgoodnight.\u201d In a moment of clarity, Shorty said, \u201cThank you for always being so sweet to me.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Six weeks and three days before their 79th wedding anniversary, on May 4, 2021, Muriel held Shorty\u2019s hand for the last time here on earth.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cWe had a happy marriage. When he saw me coming down the hall at the Veterans Nursing Home, he\u2019d point and say, \u2018She\u2019s mine!\u2019 We had 79 years together, and that\u2019s about as much as you can have,\u201d said Muriel.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Muriel celebrated her 100th birthday on June 9.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Her son, Jerry, who is a retired electrical engineer, said, \u201cOur childhood was like a Norman Rockwell painting. All my life, I\u2019ve watched my mother, and her biggest trait is how she\u2019s always been considerate of others and makes friends easily. Behind her smile is a person who cares for and loves others.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Kathy, who was a registered nurse before she retired, added, \u201cSometimes, it was to her own detriment. But I am who I am because of my mother and because of her encouragement.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n The Cobles are expecting a new addition and will soon have five generations in Bedford County. GN<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" FIVE DAYS after her 17th birthday, on June 14, 1942, Muriel Moyers nervously squeezed Leonard Coble\u2019s hand. \u201cHow old do I have to be to get married?\u201d Leonard asked the justice of the peace in Huntsville. When he responded \u201c21,\u201d 17-year-old Leonard, who most knew as \u201cShorty,\u201d replied, \u201cThen I\u2019m 21.\u201d Pointing to his secret […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":15,"featured_media":23918,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-23917","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-stories"],"yoast_head":"\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/goodnewsmags.com\/shelbyville\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2025\/07\/Story-1-photo1-1-1024x683.jpg\")