William H Cole Jr.

William H. "Bill" Cole, Jr. passed away at 1:43 PM on August 14, 2023 in Community Hospice at Baptist South Hospital in Jacksonville, Florida. Bill was born July 10, 1933 in Chicago, Illinois and recently celebrated his 90th birthday. He was preceded in death by his parents. William H. Cole, Sr. and Elda Snyder Cole, brother, James D. "Jim" Cole and his aunt, Lorna Hartman. Bill grew up in South Bend, Indiana and graduated from James Whitcomb Riley High School where he played on the varsity basketball team. After high school he served in the U.S. Air Force as an aviation electronics specialist on B-36 bombers. While serving in the Air Force Bill met his future wife, Marjorie, during a tour of duty in England. Following their marriage, they initially settled in Texas. After he was honorably discharged from the Air Force, Bill and Marjorie relocated to the Atlanta area and he spent the balance of his career as an electronic engineer for the FAA (Federal Aviation Administration). While in Atlanta Bill enjoyed spending time with his family on Lake Lanier in his sailboat. Bill also liked their frequent trips to England to spend time with Marjorie's family.
Following his retirement, he enjoyed keeping busy with special projects. Bill was a skilled craftsman and he had the technical talent to fix things and complete intricate projects. He could repair cars, lawnmowers, appliances, watches, clocks or almost any mechanical object. He finished off the basement in their home, built a grandfather clock, enjoyed day trading in the stock market and kept busy doing general repairs and maintenance around the home and for friends and family.
Bill is survived by his wife of over 65 years, Marjorie, daughter Gail Abbott and her husband Darrell Abbott, daughter Julie Anderson, son Paul Cole and his fiancé Kathy Kondrath, grandson Eric Anderson and his wife Kristen, grandsons Austin Wilson and Evan Anderson and great grandson Hawke Anderson, Marjorie's brother Philip Bailey and his wife, Marie, Darrell's daughter Brittany and her children, Bryson and Brianna, Darrell's son, Brandon and his wife Rachel and their sons, Corbin and Kason and daughter Callie.
Bill moved from the Atlanta area to St. Augustine, Florida 6 years ago, where he has enjoyed taking walks on the beach, flying his large kite, and watching the birds from the lanai at his home. He loved his wife and family and enjoyed spending time with them. He always had a love of animals and liked taking care of pets for family members. Although large in stature Bill has always been gentle in nature and he was a very gregarious and fun loving person. He greeted others with a smile, had a hardy laugh and liked to introduce himself as "friendly Bill". His larger than life personality will be sorely missed by friends and family.
A funeral service will be held at 10:30 AM on Saturday, August 19, 2023 at St. Johns Family Funeral Home and Bill will be laid to rest in a family burial plot at Southlawn Cemetery in South Bend, Indiana.
In lieu of flowers, those wishing may make a contribution in his memory to the St. Augustine Humane Society, PO Box 133, St. Augustine, FL 32085.
For those not able to attend the services will be live streamed via the following link: https://iframe.dacast.com/live/2a7a09ae1c0559a83ef537e05e6a14a6/2aae7d5f-98fd-a9e6-32a7-b774547cf42c.