Mrs. Clara Cole

Clara Geraldine “Geri” Cole, 91, passed away peacefully at her residence in Rochester Hills, Michigan, November 27, 2020.

Graveside services will be held Tuesday, December 8, 2020, at 11 a.m., at Oak Hill Cemetery, 501 Oak Hill Drive, Jasper, Alabama, with Kilgore-Green Funeral Home directing.

Geri was born and raised in Jasper, Ala., where she graduated from Walker High School in 1947. She attended Walker College and Livingston State Teachers College. She married her husband, James William Cole, Sr. (Jake) May 22, 1953. They moved to an apartment in Detroit, Michigan, in 1953, and settled in their home of 70+ years in Hazel Park, Michigan, in 1954 where they raised their family.

Geri was a schoolteacher in 1952 - 1955, in Sumiton, Alabama. A substitute teacher at Hoover Elementary School in Hazel Park, Michigan, in 1968-1970. A Librarian Assistant from 1970 - 1983 at the Hazel Park Memorial Library. She worked for the City of Hazel Park from 1983-1988. She retired in 1988 and spent time between Jasper, Alabama, and Hazel Park, Michigan, for many years. Geri was an avid reader and was often seen reading a book. She enjoyed creating beautifully decorated cakes for all occasions and took pleasure from gatherings with family and friends where she always contributed something delicious. Geri took great pride volunteering with her church preparing dinner for veterans the first Tuesday of every month. She loved the Tigers, Red Wings, and Mud Hens, and, of course, her church’s baseball team. In recent months, she spent a lot of time knitting winter hats for friends and loved ones. She had the best sense of humor. Her eyes twinkled when she laughed, and her beautiful smile was infectious. Geri will be remembered for her love and devotion for her family as well as her notoriously big, heartfelt hugs. Geri was a sister, wife, mother, grandmother, great grandmother, aunt and dear friend. She will be missed and forever in our hearts.

Preceded in death by her husband, James W. Cole, Sr., (Jake) of Hazel Park, Mich.; parents, Luther and Juliet Banks, of Jasper, Ala.; sister, Virginia Anton (James), of Birmingham, Ala.; brother, Donald Banks (Betty), of Jasper; and brother, Arnold Banks (Dorothy), of Curry, Ala.

She is survived by her brother, Edwin Banks (Wanda), of Jasper, and Charles Banks (Earline), of Leeds, Ala.; sister, Laura Wolf (Glynn), of Jasper; daughter, Janice K. Soltis (Robert) of Auburn Hills, Mich.; daughter, Linda S. Mayo (Victor), of Bloomfield Hills, Mich.; son, James W. Cole, Jr., of Hazel Park; and daughter, Anita R. Belanger-Skibbe (Darin Skibbe), of Hazel Park. She is also survived by eight grandchildren, Shannon Hall (Thomas) of Bloomfield Hills, Melanie Mattison (Mark) of Madison Heights, Mich., Brad Belanger of Hazel Park, Katrina Belanger of Vero Beach, Fla., Kathryn Soltis of Kyoto, Japan, Mary Soltis of Auburn Hills, Jacob Skibbe of Hazel Park, and Cole Skibbe of Hazel Park. She is also survived by six great grandchildren, Ethan, Kyle, Gabriel, Clair, Meredith, Alina, and many nieces and nephews.