COLE, Dollie Ann
Dollie Ann Cole, age 84, passed away on August 24, 2014. Mrs. Cole, widow of the late Edward N. Cole, former President of General Motors Corporation, was a respected businesswoman, serving in leadership roles on numerous national and local boards including on the board of PBS, Project HOPE (World Health Organization), The Smithsonian National Air & Space Museum, the National Corvette Museum, HPSC, a national leasing and finance company based in Boston, National Captioning Institute for the Hearing Impaired, National Academy of Sciences Presidents' Circle, and the 100 Club of Central Texas, a charitable organization established to support the families of officers killed while serving the public. Mrs. Cole was also a member of the Corvair Society and was a Distinguished Woman of Northwood University. Mrs. Cole's interests included historic preservation, attending auctions and she was a great supporter of projects in and for Texas, including the Settlement Home for Children. Mrs. Cole also worked as a Senior Editor for Curtis Publishing. Outspoken, bright and attractive, Mrs. Cole set a high profile standard for the auto executive wife when she arrived in Detroit in the early 1960's. Mrs. Cole commanded the same desk from her Ranch in Lockhart, Texas that her late husband occupied on the legendary 14th floor of the General Motors Building, buying it as a surprise for her husband when he retired. Known as a "force of nature" Mrs. Cole worked tirelessly for charities protecting children and animals.
Mrs. Cole is survived by her four children, William Jefferson McVey, III, Anne Cole Pierce, Esq., Robert Michael Joseph Cole and Edward N. Cole, Jr. and by seven grandchildren, Alexandra C. Pierce, 2Lt. Matthew C. Pierce (currently serving in the United States Army), Dr. Christina A. Cole, Adam H. Cole, Rita B. Cole, Edward N. Cole, III, and Gunnar M. Cole.
The family will receive friends in Texas from 3:00 P.M. to 9:00 P.M. on Thursday and Friday, August 28, 2014 and August 29, 2014 at the McCurdy Funeral Home, 105 E. Pecan Street, Lockhart, Texas 78644. Funeral services celebrating the life of Mrs. Cole will be held in Texas on Saturday, August 30, 2014 at 11:00 A.M. at the TDS Pavilion located in the TDS Exotic Game Preserve, 11508 Carl Road, Buda, Texas 78610. A second celebration of the life of Mrs. Cole will be held in Michigan. The family will receive friends in Michigan on Friday, September 5, 2014 from 3:00 P.M. to 9:00 P.M. at the A. J. Desmond & Sons Funeral Home, 2600 Crooks Road, Troy, Michigan 48084. A funeral service will be held at the Kirk in the Hills Church, 1340 W. Long Lake Rd., Bloomfield Hills, Michigan 48302 on Saturday, September 6, 2014, at 11:00 A.M. with internment to follow at White Chapel Cemetery, 621 W. Long Lake Road, Troy, Michigan, 48098.
In lieu of flowers, memorials may be sent to the Michigan Animal Adoption Network, P.O Box 566, Roseville, Michigan 48066, the Air Warrior Courage Foundation, P.O. Box 877, Silver Spring, Maryland, 20918 or the National Corvette Museum, 350 Corvette Drive, Bowling Green, Kentucky 42101.
Mrs. Cole will be greatly missed by her many friends and her family.
Arrangements under the care and guidance of McCurdy Funeral Home, 105 E. Pecan, Lockhart, Texas 78644. Obituary and guestbook online at
www.mccurdyfuneralhome.com