Charlottesville, Virginia
William Marshal "Bill" Cole
William Marshal "Bill" Cole was born in Charlottesville, Virginia, on August 1, 1944, to James and Katherine Cole. He died of injuries received while working on his sailboat, "Necessity" in Fort Myers, Florida, on Thursday, February 3, 2011. He was 66 years old.
He is survived by his wife, Betty of Norman, Oklahoma; a daughter, Grace Cole of Charlottesville; a brother, Jim Cole; and many relatives and friends.
After being a Navy JAG officer, he practiced law. Working for the Nature Conservancy, he helped preserve the Ivy Creek Natural area for generations to enjoy. Bill taught 8th grade science at Henley Middle School in Crozet and organized trips for students to places such as the Grand Canyon and the Galapagos Islands. After retirement, he did a cross country bike trip and traveled in his RV doing Habitat builds. He had a refreshing spirit of adventure.
In 2005, he met his wife Betty whom he helped run Consetta's Restaurant in NM and taught science to Native students on the Pueblo. In 2010, the couple moved to Norman, Oklahoma, to be near Betty's children. He loved God, his daughter, Grace, Betty, the Unity Church of Charlottesville and Unity of Norman, the outdoors, sailing, reading, banjo playing, music and Landmark Education. He is and will be missed.
There will be a memorial service at Unity of Charlottesville at 2825 Hydraulic Road, Charlottesville, Virginia, 10:30 a.m. Saturday, February 12, 2011. A fellowship will follow.
In lieu of flowers, contribute to Unity of Charlottesville in Bill's name.
This obituary was originally published in the Daily Progress.
Billy lived life to the fullest and I always envied his spirit of adventure. I will miss him. He was my little brother and I was in Asia when this happened.
Jim cole
August 25, 2011
Garce and Betty
'"Fair Winds": Bill Cole
"Fair Wind" as "safe journey; good fortune."
An early example of the phrase's use is in
Herman Melville's Moby Dick,
published in 1851,
where it says near the end
"Let me square the yards, while we may,
old man, and make a fair wind of it homeward."
In other words,
let me square the yards (add on all sail) and make a safe journey home.
so Bill you are at your journey to the next...
John Travers
February 08, 2011 | Charlottesville, VA
Grace,
We are so sorry about your Dad.We got to meet him when he was Casey's science teacher and we could tell he loved being in the classroom. We will keep you in our prayers.
Bob and Darlene Rotella
Dralene Rotella
February 08, 2011 | Charlottesville, VA
Remembered By
Darlene Rotella
February 08, 2011 | Charlottesville, VA
I am very sorry to hear about this. I too helped Bill move "Necessity", crewing for the leg from Titusville to Ft Myers Beach across the Okeechobee Waterway. We spent 5 days together on the boat and I got to know Bill well. He was a very interesting person and a good man. My deepest sympathies to the family.
Jim Irwin
February 07, 2011 | Rio Rancho, NM
Mr. Cole was my Earth Science teacher at Henley Middle School; and I would like to extend my deepest sympathy to his close friends and family. I vividly remember his enthusiasm for teaching and for environmental science-he made learning fun. I am certain that he will be missed by many.
Jennifer Ward
February 07, 2011 | Charlottesville, VA
My deepest sympathy to Bill's family. I met Bill and was one of the crew of "Necessity" when we sailed the boat from Virginia to Florida. He was extremely interesting and a great conversationalist during the long hours on the water. I will miss the service for him but he and his family will be in my thoughts. Dan Kemper
February 07, 2011
