Dear editor,

Rodney Dale Cooedy was born May 1, 1967, the son of James Author Cooedy and Mary Nell Cooedy and the little brother to James O’Neal Cooedy. From a very young age, Rodney was fascinated with farm equipment, trucks, race cars, four-wheelers and dune buggies, and he knew how to operate and work on almost anything.

Rodney loved his wife of 12 years, Shelia Ann Knight Cooedy, and they lived in the house that he was born in. They have a beautiful place and have put a lot of time, money and effort to remodel and build his home just the way he and Sheila wanted it. Rodney was a skilled carpenter as well and had worked building houses with Gene Tracy, Jackie Varner and just recently with Tony Evans.

Rodney loved his son, Nathan Prince, and his daughter, Layne Prince, and his grandson, Hunter Chapman. He would do anything and everything for them and taught them how to grow up in the world and to be strong and survive. Nathan and Layne will tell you themselves that their father raised them very well and was always right there if they needed him in any way.

Rodney loved his friends as well, and he never met a stranger. Everyone loved Rodney, and most people called him “Coot Dog.” He had friends in every walk of life because it didn’t matter to him—he thought you were important as a person. He had deer hunting friends, four-wheeler friends, NASCAR friends, dune buggy riding friends, swimming at the creek or river friends, and more friends than you could imagine. This is why he had so many friends is because of the great person that he was. He would always make you laugh and smile and was so full of life. He is famous for his dance moves and the watermelon crawl that he could do so well. Rodney was a very unique person, and that is why everyone loved him.

Rodney left his family and friends on Thursday, July 19 at 6:25 p.m. when he died in a dune buggy accident on County Road 232 near his home. He had just come in from work and went to the store to get some gas in his buggy, but he never made it back home. He was buried by his family and friends Sunday, July 22 at Liberty Hill Baptist Church, the same church he was baptized in when he was a young boy. Rodney died that afternoon, but he will always be with us and his legacy will go on forever. It was mentioned by a friend right after Rodney was laid to rest: I bet when Rodney walked through the pearly gates of heaven, he looked around and said, “Coot Dog’s in the house!”

William S. Blackwell, Clanton