Ardell E. Cole ~ Obituary

The funeral service for former Henry County Circuit Court Judge and Circuit Court Clerk Ardell E. Cole of Paris will be at 2 p.m. Thursday at First United Methodist Church in Paris.

Joseph A. Geary and Robert Martin will officiate. Entombment will follow in Maplewood Cemetery.

Chosen as pallbearers are Mark Ford, David Crawford, Sam Tharpe, Chris Cannon, Chuck Elizondo and Monte Belew.

Honorary pallbearers will be Bob Faber, Roger T. May, Harrison L. Kisber, Gary Hastings, Earl Williams, Tommy Moody, Carl Ross Veazey, Larry Watson, Charlie McMillen, Brown Hawley, the staff of Cardiac Rehab, members of his former Sunday school class and the local Bar Association.

Visitation is planned from 3-5:30 p.m. today and after 1 p.m. Thursday, all at the church.

Ridgeway Funeral Home is in charge.

Cole, 94, died Monday, Oct. 14, 2013, at Centennial Medical Center in Nashville.

Born Oct. 16, 1918, in Paris, he was a son of the late Frank Eugene and Elsie Era Johnson Cole.

He was married on Aug. 18, 1948, to Dorothy “Dottie” Lowe Cole, who died June 11, 2006.

Cole was a Grove High School graduate and attended Denver (Colo.) University. A veteran, he was a World War II Army major.

After becoming youth director at First United Methodist Church in 1962, he decided to run for public office. He served as Henry County Circuit Court Clerk from 1962-1976 and Henry County General Sessions Court Judge from 1976-1990, retiring after 28 years in public service. The Paris-Henry County Chamber of Commerce named him its Person of the Year in 1985.

He leaves two daughters: Cathy and Christy Cole, both of Nashville; and a brother: Joe F. (Martha) Cole of Thomaston, Ga.

He also was preceded in death by a sister: Elizabeth Cole Clark; and a brother: Bob Cole.

Memorials may be made to the charity of the donor’s choice.

Reprinted from THE PARIS POST-INTELLIGENCER
Paris, Tennessee
October 17, 2013 Edition ~ Used by Permission