Lee Erwin reporting
lerwin@clarksvillenow.com
CLARKSVILLE, Tenn. – Over the recent holiday season the community lost one of its most caring citizens, Mike Kohler, who was the local coordinator for the Marine Corp Reserve Toys for Tots program. Kohler passed away on Christmas Eve 2013 after a short illness and is being remembered for his compassion and hard work.
Clarksvillenow.com recently spoke with Mike’s wife Jo Kohler about his life, his career and his outstanding service to the community. I personally had the chance to work with Mike over the last two years and his enthusiasm for helping people and the community was contagious.
Kohler spent 21 years in the Marine Corp and served at a number of military bases and aboard ships throughout the Pacific. After his retirement in 2000, Kohler moved to Clarksville and worked at local stores like Home Depot, Lowe’s, and Harbor Freight Tools which is where he was employed when he passed away.
Toys for Tots was one of Kohler’s special loves and he worked with the program even while he was still serving in the Marine Corp. Kohler helped with the local Toys for Tots campaign in 2011 and then became the coordinator in 2012. Jo said Mike loved his children as well as his grandchildren and tried to help all kids whenever he had the chance.
Working with veterans was another one of Kohler’s passions. Jo talked about Mike saying that veterans were our living history and we need to learn from them. He was known to walk up and introduce himself when he saw a veteran and they would share their military experiences. Kohler also worked with organizations like Wounded Warriors and Hometown Heroes.
I asked Jo what she would like for people to remember about her husband and she said his generosity. “He truly believed in paying it forward. He just truly believed that whatever you give, you get it double back. He’d give you the shirt off his back and he didn’t want it back,” said Kohler.
Kohler added that if anyone met Mike they would remember him because he was genuine and he cared about everybody, he never considered anyone to be a stranger. He was bigger than life and always had a smile on his face. Jo Kohler is working to hopefully be able to take over as the local coordinator for Toy for Tots and continue the work her husband did so well.