Ka cika wannan jumla: An haife shi a Fredericton, New Brunswick kuma ya girma a Toronto, Winnipeg da Saskatoon, Saskatchewan. Ya yi aiki a kasashen waje tare da Saskatchewan Regiment a lokacin yakin duniya na biyu kuma ya ji rauni a
Dieppe. (A cikin harshen Turanci) Bayan yaƙin, Kohaly ya ci gaba da karatunsa a Jami'ar Saskatchewan, inda ya sami digiri a fannin shari'a a 1950. Ya kafa aiki a Estevan. An zabi Kohaly zuwa majalisar lardin a zaben 1953 wanda aka gudanar bayan mutuwar John Edward McCormack. Bayan da aka kayar da shi lokacin da ya sake tsayawa takara a 1956, ya koma aikin lauya. Kohaly ya yi aiki a matsayin shugaban reshen Saskatchewan kuma a matsayin shugaban kasa na Royal Canadian Legion.