Wilburn "Bill" Cole's Obituary
Wilburn “Bill” Cole was born December 19, 1929 in Huntingdon, Tennessee to James and Maggie Cole. He left school in the 7th grade to work on his parent’s farm and in the cotton fields. He entered the Navy in 1950 and served until 1954. He was a machinist stationed aboard the Aircraft Carrier U.S.S. Essex during the Korean War and received an honorable discharge. He entered the airline industry working in the manufacturing areas and eventually moved into Quality Assurance. It was while working for Rocketdyne in Neosho, Missouri that he met Verva Louise Standefer. They married in January of 1964 and were together 58+ years. On April 18, 2022 he went to be reunited with his parents and sister.
He was the bass player and band leader of The American Strings, a country and western band back in the mid-60s up to around 1970. The band played several clubs and “honkey tonks” as well as being the house band at The Cain’s Ballroom in Tulsa, Oklahoma from 1964 to 1968 where they served as the backing band for Loretta Lynn, Tammy Wynette, Crystal Gayle, Cal Smith and many others.
During his band years he and his wife had two sons: James Lewis and Michael Lynn. He continued working in airline manufacturing and was part of the team that built parts for the original Space Shuttle Program. In 1988 he retired from Rockwell International and started down the path that would turn out to be his calling in life. Bill started working with the Akdar Shrine Hospital Transportation Team making sure kids from Northeastern Oklahoma were transported to the Shrine Hospitals for Children for treatment. He served as the Chairman of the Hospital Transportation Committee and as Chairman of the Burn Team for many years and eventually was given Emeritus status for both titles. He was completely dedicated to the mission of the Shrine Hospitals and would drop any plans he had to rush to help a child in need.
In his later years he enjoyed time with his wife Louise as well as his kids and grandkids.
He is survived by his wife Louise, his sons James and Michael with his wife Candice, a large blended family of grandchildren and great grandchildren and a large extended family in Tennessee. He is also survived by the dozens of kids that entered our lives over the years and just became part of the family. To quote one of those many kids “He was a father to us all.”
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