On the recordOctober 8, 2013
I come to the floor today to pay tribute to my friend Marvin Coghill, a great North Carolinian who passed away on August 18. Marvin was an international leader in the tobacco industry, but much more than this, he loved the Old North State, and his many acts of kindness and generosity exemplify the good and humble man that he was. Marvin was born and raised in a farming community in Vance County. Always the diplomat, Marvin studied at NC State University for a year, then went up the road to rival UNC-Chapel Hill. His college days were cut short in 1952, though, when he joined the U.S. Navy and honorably served our country in the Korean War. The end of Marvin's military service marked the beginning of his career with Standard Commercial Tobacco Company in London in 1957. He traveled thousands of miles from eastern North Carolina on behalf of Standard Commercial, eventually settling in Thailand in 1963, where he married his first wife, Tomoe. Rising through the ranks, Marvin was named president and CEO of Standard Commercial in 1980. A year later, his adventure came full circle when he returned to North Carolina. For the rest of his life, he called Wilson his home. A man of great talents, he continued to lead Standard Commercial until his retirement in 2000.…
