Obituary of Virgie Cole

Virgie Mae (Dooley) Cole was born on September 18, 1920, in Genoa, Colorado to Emery and Grace Angeline (Smith) Dooley, the third and only daughter of four children. They grew up on the Eastern Colorado plains during hard times. Her parents and her brothers, Silas “Elmer,” Lawrence and Harland all precede her in death. Virgie married Rudolph Ira Cole on September 11, 1936. He also precedes her in death after forty four years of marriage. They lived on the farm until 1953 when they moved to Colorado Springs to give their children a better opportunity for education. They raised six children, three of whom precede Virgie in death as well: Eileen Joyce Johnson, Mavis Marie Condon and George Emery Cole. Of the many accomplishments of Virgie’s life, one to which she gave a great deal of devotion is the El Paso County Chapter of Purple Hearts. Her brothers fought in the Second World War, and Larry was seriously wounded. She served proudly as treasurer and then president of Purple Hearts for years. Because of her service to them, she was chosen to have a street in Colorado Springs named in her honor. Virgie worked hard in her life at widely diverse pursuits. She was a devoted wife first and a wonderful mother. She was waitress, cook, physical therapist. She cleaned houses to make ends meet when she couldn’t find anything else. She worked through every hardship in life with grace and an infectious sense of humor and encouraged her family to do the same. Virgie loved the outdoors. She always had a vegetable garden and no flower or plant ever died under her care. She loved to fish and camp in the mountains and fostered that love for Colorado in her children and grandchildren. When Virgie retired, she moved to her daughter Eileen’s ranch near Yoder, Colorado where she lived until Eileen passed away in 2013. A series of strokes put Virgie in rehab and she made the decision to go to Nevada to stay with her daughter Sharon where she passed away on October 19, 2015. Virgie is survived by her daughters Adolphine Mae Leaming of Gower, Missouri, Sharon Louise Lacey of Yerington, Nevada and Helen Kay Cox of Colorado Springs. She had eighteen grandchildren, one of whom also precedes her in death, and many great grandchildren and great great grandchildren; all her nieces, nephews and extended family.