CHATHAM, New Jersey (19 Sep 2008) — A Chatham man who died in a diving accident off of Key Largo, Fla., a year and a half ago at the age of 51 left behind a $60,000 gift to the borough, Chatham officials recently learned to their surprise. Kevin Coughlin, a 1973 Chatham High School graduate who worked as a self-employed real estate developer, apparently intended for his bequest to be split roughly evenly between general borough use and police use, with approximately $30,000 going to each. "We just got the shock of our lives," Mayor V. Nelson Vaughan III said. The borough council was expected to approve a resolution authorizing Vaughan to sign the documents necessary to secure the gift at Monday night's council meeting. The borough became aware of the bequest via a letter that arrived at borough hall a couple of weeks ago, Vaughan said. "We're going to try to find some way to honor his memory with the funds," he said. The borough had not yet spoken with Coughlin's estate to determine what Coughlin had instructed or might have wanted the borough to do with the funds, though initially there does not appear to be any restrictions, he said. Coughlin and two other divers died on March 16, 2007, while venturing inside a sunken Navy ship that served as an artificial reef. A fourth diver who did not go inside the vessel, the USS Spiegel Grove, survived. All of the divers were from New Jersey. A fellow diver described them as professional, experienced and controlled. Coughlin was described in his obituary as a real estate developer survived by friends and an uncle. It said he mentored people who had problems with alcohol and other life-threatening addictions and was a financial supporter of a wide variety of civic and charitable organizations. "Mr. Coughlin was a sincere, honest, and very special friend to many," the obituary said. | 
