John Raymond Cole

MR. RAYMOND COLE Mr. John Raymond Cole, 87, retired from Parrish Lumber Company and a resident of Eugene Road, died December 20, 2003 at Maury Regional Hospital. Funeral services will be conducted Monday at 1:00 p.m. at Oakes & Nichols with Eddie Thomason and Elmer Lusk officiating. Burial will be in the Polk Memorial Gardens with military honors provided by Herbert Griffin American Legion Post #19. The family will visit with friends Sunday from 4:00 to 9:00 p.m. at the funeral home. Notes of sympathy may be sent to www.oakesandnichols.com. A native of DeQueen, Arkansas, he was the son of the late Walter Cole and Della Humphreys Cole and a member of the Eastside Church of Christ. During World War II, he served with the 82nd Airborne Division in the European Theatre of Operation. As a paratrooper he made jumps in every country in Europe and South Africa. Survivors include his wife, Jeanette Thomason Cole of Columbia; a daughter, Edith Raylene Cole of Columbia; a son, Michael Thomason (Daphne) Cole of Columbia; three grandchildren, Daphne Cole, Dayna (Jeff) Walraven, Stacee (Brian) Brown; four great-grandchildren, Cole Walraven, Emma Walraven, Grace Walraven, Luke Walraven; a brother, Edward Cole of Seattle, Washington. Active pallbearers are Liburn Cole, Jeff Walraven, Brian Brown, Donald Cole, Vic Bates, Stephen Thomason, Ronnie Ayers, Randy Ayers.Honorary pallbearers include Jerry Wiley, Jerry Corvin, Johnny Ray Ayers, Bill Jones, Dr. Gaylon Harris.