Jeffrey Lynn Cole

On May 29, 1945 the world became a happier place as Jeffrey Lynn Cole was born in Highland Park, Michigan. This delighted his family, especially his sister Dorothy, who was excited to have a new baby brother.

As he grew and became more active he was soon joined by two younger brothers, Gordon and Gary who were to join him in his adventures throughout their childhood. Whether playing kick the can, joining Little League or riding their bicycles, the boys spent many happy hours playing together. Dorothy, six years older than Jeff, was soon too sophisticated to play with her brothers and left them to their own devices.

One of his favorite Christmas gifts when young was a BB gun given to him by his parents, Erie and Ernest Cole. When Jeff was considered old enough he often went hunting with his Uncle Buck. This was an activity he truly enjoyed, although he never hunted as an adult.

Jeff instead became a serious student and achieved grades in high school that earned him an acceptance to Brown University. However, due to financial considerations, he was unable to attend Brown. He attended and graduated from Indiana Institute of Technology receiving a B.S. degree in Aeronautical Engineering. During his years there he made many friends and went on to spend his professional career working at Sirkorsky Aircraft with several of them, including his closest friend, Jon Ludlum.

During his years at Sirkorsky, "Burner" as he was known by his co-workers, went from being mentored to becoming a mentor to younger engineers who were just beginning their careers. He was deeply motivated to help build the best aircraft in the industry, which included the military's Blackhawk, Marine One, the Queen's helicopters and the Coast Guard's copters. He took great pride in the work that he and the "team" at Sirkorsky performed. Many days he reported to work at "o'dark thirty" to fly because that was the job. His skills valued, he was asked to return to work as a contractor following his retirement. He was pleased by this change in his retirement plans since he loved his work.

During his career Jeff was asked to make several trips overseas, one to work on an oil rig in the North Sea off the coast of Scotland. The purpose of the long hours on this particular job primarily involved the performance of the helicopter in harsh weather conditions. This included taking off from the rig, ascending to quite a high altitude and shutting down the engines to make sure they would restart in such conditions. The dedication to the high standards of Sirkorsky was always paramount in Jeff's mind when he worked, as he often said, "men and women's lives depend on us doing our best".

Another of Jeff's overseas assignments took him to The People’s Republic of China, where he and several other team members worked closely with the Chinese, living in their "very cold" military barracks during their working weeks. By the end of this trip they had succeeded in making some unique friendships. The Chinese delegation even took the team on tours to sites not normally open to the public, and at the end of their stay one of his new friends presented Jeff with a very special, very warm Chinese hat as a gift, which Jeff always cherished.

"Burner" loved to travel both for work and for pleasure, his favorite area being Lake Tahoe. He always said if we won the lotto we would buy a home there, get a small boat and play lots of golf. Though the Lake Tahoe dream never became a reality playing golf with Jon, Karl, Paul and Shane became a fairly regular activity during retirement. Over the years he regularly participated in the Buckley Open South and the Amanda Buckley "Give A Smile To A Child" Foundation Tournaments.

Among Jeff's other favorite retirement hobbies was driving his little red Honda S-2000 convertible, top down, wearing his aviator sunglasses and Sirkorsky ball cap and "just going for a ride". Keeping it in pristine condition was always a point of pride for him and over the years he received many compliments and offers to purchase it when he was ready to sell, including from the Honda dealership.

Cooking however was his passion as evidenced by our remodeled kitchen. Whether preparing dinner just for the two of us or making Oysters Rockefeller as Christmas gifts Jeff put special care into all his dishes. He often said he should have been a chef and loved to wear his chef's jacket and hat when preparing holiday meals for family and friends. Actually, he enjoyed all things food and on special occasions, that is, birthdays and anniversaries, he would make a reservation at an extra elegant restaurant, call and order flowers to be delivered there, and arrange with the chef to just have the courses delivered to table without a word. He always liked to say "it only costs a little more, but it's worth it".

Jeff was the love of my life and is deeply missed. Until we meet again, I love you.

In lieu of flowers, please make a donation to the Humane Society of the Treasure Coast:

Humane Society of the Treasure Coast

Attn: Arden Bradley

In Memory of Jeff L. Cole

4100 SW Leighton Farm Avenue

Palm City, FL 34990