David Coley
Bio
David Coley was born in Louisville, Kentucky on November 8, 1961 but lived much of his life in Jackson County. He is an alumnus of Chipola College and Murray State University. While attending Chipola in the early 1980s, he worked as a sportswriter for the Jackson County Floridan. He later became managing editor of the Graceville News and The Floridan.
Coley formerly served as an aide to Florida House speaker Allan Bense. He was also a congressional aide to former U.S. Representative Bill Grant and was aide to former Florida Representatives Robert Trammell and Jamey Westbrook. In November of 2004, David was elected to the Florida House of Representatives District 7 seat.
Coley was diagnosed with liver cancer in December of 2004 and succumbed to the cancer on March 25, 2005. He was survived by his wife, Marti, who was elected to fill his seat in June of 2005, and their three children Kristin, Vance, and Hunter.
In 2005, David was named the Chipola Alumnus of the Year and the Jackson County Republican Executive Committee established the David Coley Memorial Scholarship at Chipola.