Donald Cole RIP

[Marie LaFreniere]

From Paul Cole...

My father passed over peacefully today and in no pain. A life of 96 years is an astonishing achievement for anyone and I’m thankful for the time I had with him over the years.

I’m comforted with the belief he is with those he loved . He spent his childhood enjoying quiet summers at Nomad with his loving grandparents Gat and Julie Cole while his mother cooked at the King Strang Hotel.

He would fondly recall carefree days of playing on the beach of Nomad skipping stones as purple sweet peas grew wildly along the shore. Julie would call and beckon him to come and eat pancakes on warm summer mornings of days long ago. The beauty of Nomad and lake Geneserath at the south end was a world apart from the town of St. James in his youth and he loved it all his life.

My dad lost his father tragically 86 years ago in the Oswald/ Marold explosion. He often spoke of how he lived a lifetime with his father in the 10 years he had him… the bond they had was strong and enduring even after 86 years. He can now reunite with him,my mother and others he loved. Ironically his nurse that helped him recently was named Honey…( my mother’s nickname). She was compassionate and as caring as my mom.

He still had his wit in his final weeks. With his dementia he couldn’t always recall everything so we would have to review his health issues at times…when he would wake up from a nap. One comical response recently after updating him on his health was” oh I’m in the daisy stage” to which we responded what do you mean..” you know I’ll be pushing up daisy’s soon”.

As humans we have imperfections and my father was no different. However his love of the Island history, our beautiful waters and archipelago, along with listening to music while making time for those you love are some of his enduring gifts to me.
I’ll continue to do what you did well- Work hard, play hard, take that boat ride, watch the sunset, turn up the music, spend time with those you love and always remember to tell a good story.

Your story closed today Dad but I’m thankful for being part of your book. In the spring I’ll walk among the sweet peas at Nomad, skip a stone and when it sends out ripples I’ll be reminded of the gift of love our ancestors gave years ago and continues today.

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[Tina Morgan]

Cole family so sorry for your loss. Paul what a heartfelt tribute to your dad, Don. I had the privilege to work with your father as a member of the Friends of the Trails. He was responsible for opening up many of the trails on the Island. He would tell us that "if we don't use them, the State will take them over". My favorites are Martins Bluff, Little Sand Bay and Oliver Point. He knew the Island terrain and was a wealth of information. He will be missed! Hugging each of you from my heart. May Eternal rest grant unto him O Lord, and let perpetual light shine upon him. May his soul and all the souls of the faithful departed, through the mercy of God, rest in peace.

[pbc]

So sorry for your loss! We are left with many great memories of your dad’s fascinating island stories at the Paradise Bay Coffee Shop before his sickness. The island has lost a special man.

[Marie LaFreniere]

Donald Cole
Donald Raymond Cole, age 96, of Beaver Island, Michigan, passed away peacefully at Boulder Park Terrace nursing home in Charlevoix, Michigan on August 14, 2023.

He was born on Beaver Island to Raymond Cole and Grace Gillespie Cole on May 26, 1927, their only child. His childhood was spent between the harbor village of St. James and the settlement of Nomad on the island's south end, where his paternal grandparents ran a sawmill and rented out cottages for summer visitors. His early life was marked by tragedy when at the age of nine he lost his father in a catastrophic fuel salvaging accident in northern Lake Michigan. Afterward he spent the remainder of his childhood years in Charlevoix, St. James, and again at Nomad, an idyllic refuge that would hold some of the most precious memories of his long life.

In the years immediately following World War II he served in the US Army stationed in Kitzingen, Germany, acting as a courier for military intelligence, part of which included his presence at the historic Nuremberg Trials. Following military service he returned to Beaver Island and worked at a number of jobs before marrying his island sweetheart Lillian Connaghan, a nurse. They spent two years in Detroit before moving back to Beaver Island in the mid-1950's and raising nine children. In the decades that followed he worked for over thirty years on the island as a road engineer for the Charlevoix County Road Commission, as well as operating a family-run commercial fishing business for twenty-five years.

Throughout his life he was active in civic affairs both publicly and behind the scenes. He and the handful of Beaver Island families who remained on-isle after WW II collaborated to keep their hometown intact at its lowest point, when the year-round population numbered under two hundred souls and the fate of their community hung in the balance. Their efforts succeeded over time, but he didn't stop his efforts to help others, often quietly assisting those in need one way or another. He found sobriety in his forties, and for decades sponsored and supported many in their search for the same, both on Beaver Island and in Charlevoix.

In the years before and after his retirement he traveled abroad and throughout the US, sometimes wintering in warmer climes where he spent time with friends and relatives. He dabbled in gardening, sailing, and houseboating in the Beaver Island archipelago, but also kept a hand in local matters at civic, business and local government levels. In his own way he was a visionary with an eye toward the betterment and sustainability of his community. Time eventually softened the scars of his youth and the edges of his demeanor, and brought him a peace elusive to him in earlier years.

He was preceded in death by his father Raymond in 1937, his mother Grace in 1998, his wife Lillian in 2002, and his eldest child Hugh in 2021. Surviving are his second wife Sharon, his children Raymond (Lisa), Jim, Laurel (Tim), Garrett (Pam), Tom, Paul (Shirley), Robert, Brian (Rose), and several grandchildren.

A graveside funeral service will be held on Beaver Island at Holy Cross Cemetery at 2 PM, Saturday, September 2. All are welcome to attend and pay their respects. Donations in his memory can be made to the Beaver Island Association, for the Trails Project.

Arrangements are in the care of the Charlevoix Chapel of Mortensen Funeral Homes. Please sign his online guestbook at www.mortensenfuneralhomes.com
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