John Cole

Visitation for John Cole will be held from 6 to 8pm on Wednesday, January 18th, 2023 at Ladusau-Evans Funeral Home and Crematory.

John was born August 12, 1950 in Dyer, Tennessee to Ernie and Maria (Robinson) Cole, and passed away January 15, 2023. He lived and grew up in Dyer, Tennessee until the age of 11. They moved to Memphis, Tennessee where his dad went to work at W.R. Grace Chemical Company. John worked from age 16 to 23 at Kroger Grocery. During and after college he worked at W.R. Grace Chemical in the summers. He attended Trezevant High School Memphis, Tennessee in 1968. John graduated from Memphis State University in 1972 with a Bachelor’s Degree in Engineering Technology. In 1972, he was commissioned as a Lieutenant in the United States Air Force. He was selected to be a Missile Launch Officer and manned Minute Man I Intercontinental Ballistic Missiles systems for 3 years. In October 21, 1973, at Vandenberg AFB, California, he married his high school sweetheart, Patricia Ann Craig.

In 1976, he was a base architect for Fairchild Air Force Base Spokane, Washington and promoted to Captain. In 1980, he was stationed overseas in Kunsan Air Base Kwangu, Korea as base civil engineer while his wife remained in Spokane. His tour was poorly timed, as Mt. Saint Helen’s Volcano erupted in 1980 while he was away. After returning to the states, he was transferred to Offutt Air Force Base, headquarters of Strategic Air Command in Omaha, Nebraska. There he started his family with two wonderful children; a daughter, Sarah, and then a son, David. John continued his education at the Air Force Institute of Technology at Wright-Patterson AFB in Dayton, Ohio where he earned his Master’s Degree in Engineering Management and was promoted to Major.

The Air Force relocated him and his family to K.I. Sawyer AFB in the remote upper peninsula of Marquette, Michigan. As the Chief of Engineering Operations, John was responsible for protecting the base, personnel, and their families during a massive forest fire that swept through region. He kept the air field operational during the most severe blizzards and was awarded twice with prestigious “Best Airport in the Free World.”

With enough snow experience under his belt, he was promoted to Lt. Colonel and challenged with a new hazard…earthquakes. Castle AFB in Atwater, California welcomed him as Civil Engineer and rose to Support Group Commander overseeing the base closure. John once again returned to Wright-Patterson AFB for final two years of his 24 year long career to retire.

John pursued a civilian career in engineering consulting. His new career led him to Vance AFB in Enid, Oklahoma where he was the Director of Civil Engineering in 2001. He was promoted to Project Manager and oversaw the civilian contract for Computer Science Corporation.

In 2006, he worked for Defense Support Services in Panama City, Florida writing civilian support contracts for the U.S. Government. John wrote and won the support contract for Shepard AFB, in Wichita Falls, Texas where he was the Project Manager of the contract. Two years later, he elected to retire and return home to Enid, Oklahoma.

He is survived by his wife, Dr. Patricia Ann Cole, of 49 years, his daughter, Sarah Slaninka and husband Michael of Plymouth, Indiana and their child, Joshua Slaninka, and his son, David Cole and his wife Kiersten, and their child, Liam Cole.

He enjoyed bird hunting, automotive repairs, and bass fishing. He loved to take his family to weekend car shows to show off his 1966 Pontiac GTO. He was a loving and devoted husband and father.

Proceeded in death by his father, Ernie Eugene Cole and mother Marie.