Koka Booth

Koka Booth
Mayor of Cary, North Carolina
In office
1987–1999
Preceded byHarold D. Ritter
Succeeded byGlen Lang
Personal details
Born
Koko Edward Booth Jr.

(1932-08-12)August 12, 1932
Kenova, West Virginia, US
DiedOctober 23, 2023(2023-10-23) (aged 91)
Cary, North Carolina, US

Koka Edward Booth Jr. (August 12, 1932 – October 23, 2023) was a former mayor of Cary, North Carolina. He served as mayor between 1987 and 1999.[1] He is the namesake of Koka Booth Amphitheatre in Cary.

Early life

Booth was born on August 12, 1932 in Kenova, West Virginia.[2] He was one of seven children born to Koka Edward Booth Sr. and Susan Ann Booth.[2] After he graduated from Ceredo-Kenova High School in 1950, his family moved to Rocky Mount, North Carolina.[3][4] There, he worked with his brother at the Carolina Machinery & Supply Company as a service engineer.[5][3][4] He graduated from the Dodge School of Transmissioneering in May 1953.[5]

Career

Booth was a coal miner in Kenova.[6] Eventually, he owned a share of a coal mine, which he sold at a profit.[6]

He worked at Aeroglide Corporation in the Research Triangle Park in North Carolina from 1971 until 1993.[7][8] He worked in the communications department at SAS Institute in Cary, North Carolina from 1993 until 2007.[7][9]

Booth was appointed to fill a vacancy in the Cary town council in 1978.[8] He was then elected to the town council, serving on it for 22 years.[10][8] He was Cary's 34th mayor, serving for twelve years between 1987 and 1999.[11][8] While Booth was mayor, Cary experienced economic growth fueled by technology companies like IBM and SAS.[6] He facilitated paving roads and constructing a water treatment plant.[9] He helped bring a YMCA and a conferenced center to Cary and established Fred G. Bond Metro Park.[8] Near the end of his tenure, Booth commissioned architects to design what became the Amphitheatre at Regency Park; it opened in 2000.[12] In 2004, the amphitheatre was renamed the Koka Booth Amphitheatre in his honor.[13][14]

Personal life

Booth met his wife, Blanche Estelle Wilkens, while living in Rocky Mount, North Carolina.[15][4] They married on November 27, 1954.[4] The couple had two sons.[6] They moved to Raleigh, North Carolina in 1955 and, then, to Kenova, West Virginia.[16][9] While working for a coal mine, Booth injured his face and required plastic surgery.[9] The family returned to Raleigh and moved to Cary in 1971.[3][9] Booth felt that his sons would have no future in West Virginia and was attracted by the reputation of Cary High School's band.[9][6]

Booth had a stroke in 2004, which required eighteen months of physical therapy and later brought on dementia.[3][9] Booth died on October 10, 2023 in Cary.[1] Flags around Cary were flown at half-mast for twelve days, symbolizing the twelve years that he was mayor.[1][8]

References

  1. ^ a b c "Koka Booth, former Cary Mayor, has died". ABC11 Raleigh-Durham. 2023-10-10. Retrieved 2025-06-25.
  2. ^ a b "Koka Booth Obituary - Cary, NC". Dignity Memorial. Retrieved 2025-06-25.
  3. ^ a b c d Nagem, Sarah (2014-08-06). "Koka Booth, Cary's former Big-Growth Mayor, Looks Back". The News and Observer. Raleigh, North Carolina. pp. A1, A5. Retrieved 2025-06-26 – via Newspapers.com.
  4. ^ a b c d "Blanche Wilkins and Koka Booth Jr. Married in Double Ring Ceremony in First Baptish Church". Rocky Mount Telegram. 1954-11-28. p. 17. Retrieved 2025-06-26 – via Newspapers.com.
  5. ^ a b "Koka E. Booth Jr. Finishes Course". Rocky Mount Telegram. 1953-05-15. p. 9. Retrieved 2025-06-26 – via Newspapers.com.
  6. ^ a b c d e "Cary History: Former Cary Mayor Koka Booth". Cary Citizen. Retrieved 2025-06-25.
  7. ^ a b Johnson, Kristen (October 11, 2023). "Former Cary Mayor Koka Booth, who championed town's growth, dies at 91". News & Observer.
  8. ^ a b c d e f Johnson, Kristen (2023-10-12). "Former Cary Mayor Koka Booth Dies at 91". The Herald-Sun. Durham, North Carolina. pp. A10. Retrieved 2025-06-26 – via Newspapers.com.
  9. ^ a b c d e f g "Oral History Interview with Koka Booth, July 6, 2004. Southern Oral History Program Collection (#4007)". Documenting the American South. University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Retrieved 2025-07-02.
  10. ^ WRAL (2023-10-10). "Koka Booth, mayor who oversaw Cary's booming growth, dies". WRAL.com. Retrieved 2025-06-25.
  11. ^ "Koka Booth, former mayor and champion of Cary's growth, has died". CBS17.com. 2023-10-10. Archived from the original on 2023-12-08. Retrieved 2025-06-25.
  12. ^ Architecture: The AIA Journal. American Institute of Architects. 2002. p. 64.
  13. ^ Saylor, Teri (2025-05-01). "25 Years of Koka Booth Amphitheatre". Wake Living. Retrieved 2025-06-25.
  14. ^ Gibson, Dale (May 10, 2004). "Cary theater to bear name of former mayor". Triangle Business Journal. Retrieved 2025-06-25.
  15. ^ Booth (1954-09-12). "Marriage of Wilkins". Rocky Mount Telegram. p. 31. Retrieved 2025-06-26 – via Newspapers.com.
  16. ^ "Mrs. Booth Honored at Going-Away-Party". Rocky Mount Telegram. 1955-10-03. p. 7. Retrieved 2025-06-26 – via Newspapers.com.
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