Coker Cemetery Association, San Antonio, Texas

Coker Cemetery History #27

by Bob Battaglia

Group Paints Coker Church
San Antonio Evening News Nov 3, 1932

"The little Coker community Methodist Church, situated 12 miles from town on the Coker road, wore a fresh coat of white paint Wednesday administered by a group of San Antonio and Coker community residents under the direction of District Lay Leader J.M. Price.

Some 25 men clambered about the old weather-beaten church – a relic of 1886 – coating it with paint while the women folk prepared dinner for the workmen.

A sad note was added to the occasion by the death of Neill Brown Coker, 83, who donated the plot of ground on which the church stands when he settled there long ago. Coker's funeral was scheduled to be held in the church Wednesday afternoon. He died Monday.

Next Sunday members of the Coker community church will stage a home-coming. The morning service will be preached by Rev. A.H. Bankert, pastor in charge, and the evening service conducted by the Rev. A.F. Adair of Boerne."

Butch Gerfers recently came across a picture of the old Gerfers Store and a copy of John Coker’s land grant with current road locations identified.

(L to R) Emma Werner, May Coker DeKunder, Mrs. Carl Kreitz, Linda Werner Hanz

Pictured above is the Werner General Store in about 1930. Second from the left is May Coker DeKunder, daughter of John Harrison Coker & Fannie Hatch Coker. She had walked to the store that day from her home about a quarter of a mile north of there. The store was located near the south east corner of John Coker’s land grant in northern Bexar County at the intersection of North Loop and Jones-Maltsberger Roads. May’s daughter & son-in-law, Clarence and Edna Mae Gerfers, would later buy the store in 1946 and operate it until they retired in 1977 when the City of San Antonio bought the property for expansion of the airport.

John Coker’s land grant: Bordered by West Ave, Bitters Rd. Jones Maltsberger Rd., and Sandau Rd.

If you have interesting stories about our early Coker ancestors, please send them in.
My email address is: bob@cokercemetery.com