Marty Ralph Cole

Marty is the baby of four children. He has two sisters and one brother. There is Rose Mary, Bobbie Jean and Craig.

Violet told me Marty was a good baby and in school he was very smart even won National Honor society awards and graduated a year yearly from high school. Their home life is a busy one. His dad is in the Airforce so they move a lot. From Montana they move to Germany and then to Michigan. He is close with his brother and sisters. They hang out together and get in trouble sometimes, especially with the neighborhood friends the Waldenburg’s and Greenwood’s. The neighborhood parents have to band together against all this orneriness and when the kids are all caught smoking cigarettes in a backyard that parent makes them smoke the entire pack. They are all so sick they decide they can wait until they are grown up to try that again.

Marty loves Halloween and he gets out there and gets lots of candy, pillowcases full of delicious delights. His favorite thing to do is monitor his candy intake until all his siblings haven eaten all of theirs then he pulls his out and taunts them with each bite. In his teenage years he is such a friendly guy and so well liked in school that making friends comes easily to him and he starts enjoying the party scene. He likes to stay out too late and so when his mother warns him that they are leaving from Michigan to go to Wichita, Kansas early the next morning and that he should really stay home he goes ahead and goes out instead. As he leisurely drives up to his home and goes to the front door it is locked and everyone is gone. They did leave him. He is sure it was his father but years later he finds out it was his sweet darling Mother. By the way they did come back and get him. I’ll bet he used some of his favorite phrases that day. Like “That’s Sick" or the Yiddish term “Oy vey!” or “Don’t get me started.”

Marty is only in Wichita for a little while and then decides to go with some friends from High School to Tucson, Arizona. He misses his family and soon he is back in Wichita. He tries to find a job and works as a door to door salesman for a little while then he gets on at Raytheon Beechcraft as a machinist and will work there until he retires in February of this year with 30 years.

Marty loves music and he will amass quite a collection. He takes up the guitar and loses himself in the feel of the music. He loves to go to concerts whenever he can.

He is out partying when he meets this girl and he can’t stop staring at her. They start dating and before you know it Marty is married to Nita. They get married at Eberly Farms which I was told by all those in attendance it was the hottest day of the year. Soon their family is growing and two beautiful daughters come on the scene. Melissa and Monica. Marty is basically a family man. He is close with this parents and siblings and he wants to build that same kind of legacy in his family. He is a hands-on Dad. He danced with them and let them braid his hair. Yes, his hair was a bone of contention. Most of his family wanted him to cut it but the girls loved it.

Marty is at every event his daughters are a part of and he is the one cheering them on. If they get hurt and start to want to quit Dad doesn’t let them, he wants them to be tough in life and take the good as well as the bad and he encourages them to work through the pain and win. When they go on vacation it is mostly road trips. Their family has a great time camping and enjoying the wonders of nature.

If they are skiing in Colorado, Marty is having the best time. He loves to ski; it is his greatest passion. They go many times to Colorado and just enjoy the resorts and cabins. Marty gets lost in the wonder of it all and gives his heart to the love of skiing.

When their family celebrates the holidays, it is at his mother Violet’s home. Marty still enjoys Halloween but in a different way now. One year he finds an OJ Simpson mask, guess what year that was and the rest is history. This mask becomes his trademark costume for many years until the mask literally falls apart. He loves to put it on and scare the girls and the trick or treaters. One year it rains so hard that the Melissa can’t go out for Trick or Treat but that doesn’t stop Marty he gives her an umbrella and they get in his truck and she goes door to door. Since no one else is out trick or treating Melissa get most all of the candy in their bowls from the people she visits. Marty loves Thanksgivings and Christmas. Family is everything to Marty.

It rocks Marty’s world when he and Nita divorce but Marty has plenty of friends and he throws himself into the party scene and just takes one day at a time. He decides he needs some new excitement and he buys himself a Harley. He just enjoys the moment. He and his buddies start riding on Thursday evenings go smoke cigars or go to Magoo’s for killer pizza or The Annex for the best burger on the best seasoned grill ever. Oy Vay! Marty loves motorcycling but he loves his girls more. Marty sees the girls on weekends and Wednesdays. Violet has them over on Wednesday’s for dinner and sets up a tradition that will be carried out until recently. He teaches his girls about life and they talk about anything. Sometimes they cook and stay up until 3 in the morning. He tells them that Religion, Politics and Music are hard topics and should be avoided in most conversations. He is there for his girls as they try each new endeavor in school. If they get to girly with their makeup and spa days Dad is the one who brings them back to earth as he puts them on the back of his motorcycle and all that hair and makeup gets a reality check.He was the fun parent but he could be hard on them when they needed it though. They felt loved and protected.

In his down time Marty likes to watch television. He likes Me TV and on Friday and Saturday nights it the black and white horror spoofs or Alfred Hitchcock at Midnight. He likes the old shows like Twilight Zone or Bonanza. He is always in touch with current events through the newspaper or local news. He loves to read as he gets older and likes fiction like Crime novels and nonfiction too. His favorite place to eat is Baiwei Asian Diner and his traditional order is the Spicy Shrimp with a big beer. His other favorite place because you can get a good beer good steak and at an affordable price while throwing peanut shells on the floor is Texas Roadhouse, he gets the Ribeye or Fillet and on Friday nights it’s the Prime Rib special. His favorite snacks are Reese’s pieces, peanut butter and Oreo Cookies. Nita and Craig love the Indy cars and drag races and so does Marty. They visit as many of those races as they can. Marty is a Chevy person in a Ford family.

Life is going good for Marty. He is a healthy man. He is never sick. When he feels down, he knows how to party and have a good time. He decides to get a dog and his life changes well his nose gets a change anyway. Schatze is the cutest white boxer you have ever seen. She is a good dog she potty trains right away and only eats the outdoor furniture but she has one unseen flaw. Gas. Yes, when Schatze eats anything it turns into a green fog minutes later and your nose runs, your eyes tear up, and you are enveloped in panic trying to find fresh air. One time the family took her camping and no one wanted her in their tent. Well Craig and Marty got stuck with her and neither of them were brave enough to let her in the tent so they left her outside. Soon the park ranger is letting them know she has to be on a leash but Marty as friendly as he always is, starts talking with the ranger and soon he says its okay for her to stay outside she seems like a well-mannered dog. Crisis averted that is until Marty takes her home an in the house there is no escape from the Gas. Even in his sleep Marty isn’t safe. One-night Marty and Schatze fall asleep and Marty starts dreaming he is at a Carnival and he is eating the best funnel cake he has ever had then suddenly a smell reaches his nose and it is so foul it takes his breath away. Is it his funnel cake? He takes a deep whiff “OY VEY!” suddenly he is awake coughing and gagging. Shots is sleeping peacefully by his side tooting sporadically in her sleep. Marty inherits a cat named Pete from an ex-girlfriend and although he acts like he would like to get rid of him whenever someone suggests it Marty has an excuse. He has a love hate relationship with this cat.

Marty has a next-door neighbor named Jim and they become very close over the years. Marty isn’t much for mowing so Jim helps. They start checking up on each other as they age and become each other’s guardian angel. Marty is thrilled when he becomes a grandpa to Alice. Marty is a hands-on grandpa and he enjoys spending time with Alice.

Marty retires and is enjoying his time off. His family is planning a trip and life is good. On Monday September 9th Marty’s neighbor Jim notices that he hasn’t seen Marty today. He goes to check on him and the unthinkable has happened Marty has died unexpectantly in his sleep. In a blink of an eye Marty has left this world.