Datis Cole Sr.

Datis Eugene Cole, Sr., of 232 Shannon Lake Circle, passed away Sunday, December 2, 2007, at St. Francis Hospital Downtown.

Born September 10, 1916 in Findlay, Ohio, he was a son of the late Willis Earl and Lucy Katherine Cole, and husband of Dorothy Glenn Cole.

Mr. Cole served his country in the United States Air Force as a bomber pilot during World War II, flying over thirty missions into Nazi Germany. He retired from the Air Force as a Lt. Colonel after twenty-seven years of service. He was an engineer employed for the United States Post Office, retiring after thirty-seven years of service. He was a member of First Presbyterian Church, where he served as a Deacon, Elder and Clerk of Session.

In addition to his wife, he is survived by two sons, Datis E. Cole, Jr. and his wife, Myra Ashley, of Greenville, and Robert (Robbie) Cole and his wife, Dr. Pam Cole, of Greenville; one brother, George F. Cole of Perrysburg, Ohio; one sister, Juanita Prowant of Phoenix, Ariz; and a grandson, Christopher Cole Thrasher of Greenville. He was preceded in death by a daughter, Kathleen Cole Thrasher; and two brothers, Burt Cole and Willard Cole.

The family will receive friends Tuesday from 12 to 2 p.m. at First Presbyterian Church. Funeral services will be at 2 p.m. immediately following the visitation, with the Rev. Richard Gibbons, the Rev. Dr. Randolph Kowalski, the Rev. Dr. Pamela Patrick Cole and the Rev. Stan Johnson officiating. Interment will follow in Woodlawn Memorial Park.

In lieu of flowers, memorials may be made to First Presbyterian Church, 200 West Washington St., Greenville, SC 29601, or to Buffalo Baptist Church, 618 Old Buffalo Church Road, Blacksburg, SC 29701.

The family is at the residence.

The Mackey Mortuary, Century Drive