After being injured in World War I he returned to Kansas City and began studying on his own and prepared to enroll in the Missouri School of Mines and Metalurgy (now Univeristy of Missouri, Rolla). He was admitted as a special student 3 November 1919. John attended classes from 1919 to 1921. He eventually took the exam and became a Professional Engineer.
John was listed as an Apprentice Structural Engineer on the 1920 Federal Census. By 1924 he was working for Kansas City Railroad and from 1925 to 1927 as a Draftsman for Missouri Valley Bridge Company. In 1927 John moved his family to a homestead in Tule Lake, Siskyou County, California. He returned to Kansas City in 1946.
In the 1950's, John was working for Missouri Valley Steel Company, they had a contract to build 14 passenger cargo boats and 28 65-foot harbor tug boats for the US Navy. He designed a jig so they could build the boats upside down and then turn them over.
The following pictures show a boat being turned over after construction.
Once the boats were completed they would be taken to New Orleans. In order to do this John designed a tow boat that was named "Delivery". It was actually two half boats that were bolted together. Each half boat had it's own flotation and power plant. When the tow boat reached New Orleans it was split in two and placed on flatbed railroad cars and returned to Leavenworth, Kansas where it was re-assembled and took the next shipment of boats down the Mississippi.
Article from the Leavenworth Times, 19 July 1953
According to the Leavenworth Times the last two cargo boats left the shipyard 30 October 1953 headed for New Orleans. From there they would go on to the small boat basin at Charlestown, South Carolina.
Sources
The Leavenworth Times, 19 July 1953 page 1 column 7. www.newspapers.com
The Leavenworth Times, 06 Aug 1953 page 1 column 1. www.newspapers.com
The Leavenworth Times, 30 Oct 1953 page 1 column 1. www.newspapers.com
Photograph collection of John L Coakley now in collection of the author.
Official Transcript of John L Coakley from School of Mines and Metallurgy, University of Missouri, Rolla issued January 15, 1945.
Kansas City, Kansas City Directories 1924-1927
1920 US Federal Census, microfilm T625, roll 556, supervisor district 2, enumeration district 180, sheet 5 B. Family of Rose Coakley.
