Emory Wade Cole

Emory Wade Cole, 72, died August 19, 2014 in hospice care at Maury Regional Medical Center. Services are to be held at Westminster Presbyterian Church on Trotwood Avenue at two o'clock Friday afternoon, with Rev. Mark Proctor and Rev. Wilson Henderson of Highland Park Baptist Church officiating. Burial will follow at Polk Memorial Gardens. Visitation with the family will be at Oakes and Nichols Funeral Home from four to eight p.m. Thursday, and Westminster from one p.m. until the funeral on Friday. Mr. Cole was born in Clarksburg, West Virginia on September 8, 1941, the son of the late William S. and Maxine Wamsley Cole. He moved to Columbia, Tennessee in 1958 and graduated from Columbia Central High School in 1959. He married Judy Prince on April 21, 1962.He began working at Monsanto in 1960 and retired from there as North Area Supervisor thirty-three years later. One of his last responsibilities with the company was participating in the planning for the shutdown of the Columbia plant. While at Monsanto, he was active in UGF and spent a great deal of time helping with the Nondenominational Youth Center.Mr. Cole developed an interest in building and flying model airplanes at an early age and was instrumental in the founding of the R. C. Modelers Flying Field at Monsanto. The airfield was named after him and was in existence for twenty-seven years. Although he was a skilled pilot of his beautifully crafted airplanes, he recently admitted to bringing a few of his models home "in a basket."He really enjoyed fishing and spent many hours on the Tennessee River, fishing for sauger. He became known to his fishing buddies as "Coley Saugermaster." He created and made many lures for his own use and as gifts for his friends. Mr. Cole was a Little League coach several years ago and was a fan of the Columbia Central and Columbia State baseball teams. He took pride in telling everyone that his grandsons, Hayden and Spencer Holt, played for these teams. In recent years, he enjoyed watching his grandson, Carson, participate in soccer. He always enjoyed college football, his favorite team being the West Virginia Mountaineers. He was also a great fan of Vanderbilt basketball and baseball. He pulled for UT, except when they played Vanderbilt. He was a member of Highland Park Baptist Church and participated in the "Old Coots" Sunday School class. He spent much of the past year helping with the planning and renovation of the church facilities.Mr. Cole was a perfectionist, and whether it was the building of model airplanes, the creation of artistic fishing lures, or commitment to church and family, one can truly say "well done."In addition to his parents, Mr. Cole was preceded in death by his son, Darren Wade Cole (October 11, 2011); his mother-in-law, Ruby Prince Green; fathers-in-law Russell Prince and William Green.Survivors include his wife of 52 years, Judy Prince Cole; daughter Kimberly Cole Holt and son-in-law Brent Holt; sister Sue Cole Clark and brother-in-law Neil Clark; grandsons Hayden Holt, Spencer Holt, and Carson Cole; brothers-in-law and sisters-in-law, Bobby and Frances Prince, Pat and Gail Prince; Pat and Janice Troope, all of Columbia, and Gayden Green of Atlanta, GA; nieces and nephews Chad (Deanna) Clark, Steve (Jill) Clark, John Clark, Michelle (David) Roachelle, Jennifer Troope, Scott (Andrea) Troope, Russ (Diana) Prince, Shannon (Rollie) Alfonso, Kristi Hall, Jeremy (Katie) Prince and Julia Green.The family appreciates the special care given to Mr. Cole by the nurses and staff in the Intensive Care Step-down Unit (2nd Floor) and in the Skilled Nursing Unit at Maury Regional.Active pallbearers are Bill Potts, Charlie Mitchell, Jerry Fly, Anthony Sims, Ed Howell, Jim Walters, Donnie Melton, Rick Bertrand, Dan Harmon, Bobby Lovell and Bobby Benefield.Honorary pallbearers are Kyle Anson, Billy Benefield, Blake Carroll, Lance Romer, Cliff White, Cecil Conner, Kenny Dodd, Phil Clark, Kay Cheek, Renee McCaig, JoAnn Mingledorff, Renee and Kenneth Lovett, retired Monsanto employees, Central High Class of 1959, "Old Coots" Sunday School Class, Highland Park Baptist Church Deacons, Dr. Gibran Naddy and Dr. Minerva Covarrubias.Condolences may be offered to the Cole family at www.oakesandnichols.com. Memorials may be made to the Building Fund or Music Ministry Fund at Highland Park Baptist Church at 1800 Highland Avenue, Columbia, TN 38401.