A Visitation for Family and Friends for Charles will be held on Wednesday, September 18, 2024 from 6:00 PM to 8:00 PM at Striffler-Hamby Mortuary, 3770 Highway 431 North, Phenix City, Alabama 36867. A Celebration of Life Funeral Service will occur on Thursday, September 19, 2024 at 2:00 PM at Striffler-Hamby Mortuary- Phenix City. Interment will follow at Lakeview Memory Gardens, 3800 Hwy 431 North, Phenix City, Alabama 36867.
"Chris", as he was affectionately known, was born on October 3, 1953 in Tampa, Florida. He was the son of the late Charles Lamar Spraggins and Nancy Jean Stewart Mulheirn. He graduated from Alleghany High School in Covington, Virgina, as the Class of 1971. After high school, Chris decided to further his education at Auburn University, earning a Bachelor's, Master's, Specialist's, and Doctoral Degree in Science Education. He taught chemistry and biology at Columbus High School, Smiths Station High School, St. Anne Pacelli Catholic School, Chattahoochee Valley Community College, and Troy University. He retired from the Muscogee County School District in 2016 after 40 years of teaching, with his favorite topic being The Periodic Table of Elements.
Aside from being a teacher, he was also a successful baseball and golf coach. He began the Pacelli Baseball team in the 1980s, establishing them as a Georgia High School Class A Team. With his coaching talent and love for students and players, he led the team to the State Championship round in 1991. He also coached at Columbus High School, where his team finished second in the 5A State Championship and won the 4A State Championship the following year.
Through Chris’ dedication as a coach and educator, he was awarded the Muscogee County School District Teacher of the Year Award in 2006, was a finalist in the Georgia Teacher of the Year State Competition in 2008, and was the Ledger-Enquirer All-Bi-City Girls Golf Coach of the Year in 2016. In addition, he also won a national competition for boarding the “Weightless Wonder”, a modified Boeing 707, for his student’s experiments with movements of satellites in space.
He was a board member on the Ladonia Volunteer Fire Department in Phenix City, Alabama. He was a true Auburn fan who supported his team through wins and losses. Chris was loved by many students, players, teachers, Muscogee County School District Officials, and local community leaders, and his impact on them will live on forever.
He is preceded in death by his parents, Charles Lamar Spraggins and Nancy Jean Stewart Mulheirm, and his special canine buddy, Leeroy.
Survivors include his wife, Cindy Spraggins; children, Matthew Spraggins, Caroline McCaleb (Kyle), and Emily Harrison (Will); granddaughter, Greenlea Harrison; siblings, Susan Platt (Mike), Mike Spraggins, Stephanie McDaniel (Brock), and Mark Spraggins (Elissa); nieces, Kaela Haydu and Gemma Spraggins; nephew, Dante Spraggins; and a host of four-legged critters at the "Spragzoo".
The family requests that in lieu of flowers, donations be made to the East Alabama Humane Society at www.eahs4pets.com or to Columbus Hospice at www.columbushospice.com.
