A Joyful Life Lived to the Fullest

Keith F. Cole, age 93, passed unexpectedly on September 8, 2018.

Keith was born in 1924 in Grand Rapids, Michigan. He graduated from Ottawa Hills High School in 1942 and attended Michigan State University prior to enlisting in the Army Air Corps during WWII.

Keith had a very distinguished and decorated military career. During WWII, he served with the 492nd Airborne and the Office of Strategic Service (OSS), which later became the CIA. Their mission was to drop spies, supplies and saboteurs behind enemy lines and bring a quickened end to the war. In 2015, he received the French Legion of Honor, France's highest civilian honor, and in March he was awarded the Congressional Gold Medal, Congress's highest honor. Most recently he was asked to speak of his roles during the war to various military organizations, including United States Central Command at MacDill Air Force in Tampa, Florida.

Upon his return to civilian life, he married Martha Elder of St. Joseph, MI in 1951, who preceded him in death in 2010.

Keith was employed by Travelers Insurance Company and later the State of Michigan, where he rose to the Bureau Director of Medicaid Operations. He retired in 1992 and summered in Michigan and wintered in Sarasota.

Throughout his life, he arose early to embrace the possibilities of each day, and lived every day filled with joy and purpose. Keith enjoyed walking, traveling, and playing golf, and had a hole-in-one. He enjoyed music, playing the harmonica, and participating in The Meadows Choir.

For 70 years, Keith cherished the friendships with his Phi Delta Theta brothers, and created fond memories with his Michigan friends, and his dear friends in The Meadows and around Sarasota. He regularly got together with his friends who spanned his lifetime; some of whom he first met in Kindergarten.

He was an extraordinarily loving and caring man who will be forever missed by his family and all those who knew him. His remarkable wit, charm, and compassion were his lasting gifts to all he met. We are certain that there are many people still chuckling from the last story Keith told them and many more smiling from their last conversation with him. Keep smiling.

Keith will be dearly missed and remembered by his son, Charles (Lynn) Cole of Pierceton, IN; two daughters, Kathy (Gary) Valentine of Beverly Hills, MI and Peggy (John) Cole-Gibbons of Howard City, MI; grandchildren, Kelsey (Mike) Pressler, Brady Gibbons, Shelley and Nicholas Valentine; four great-grandchildren; nephews, Brian Cole and Tom Jereb; and his very dear extended family, Boris, Lucy, Alex (Inna) and Sasha (Annette) Deriy of Chicago, IL, and his very special lady, Dee Farmwald of Sarasota.

A military ceremony and internment at the Sarasota National Cemetery is planned in January. Another announcement will follow as the date is finalized.

Memorial Donations may be made to:

Talons Out Honor Flight of Michigan, PO Box 280, Portage MI 49081

www. talonsouthonorflight.org Tel: 1-269-273-4545

Source: Unknown (contributed without attribution)