James Cole

James “Jim” Parnell Cole died peacefully in his home December 17,2021. He was born in South Paris, Maine on February 22, 1941 to the late James Greenwood Cole and Clara Parnell Cole. Jim was also preceded in death by his sister Mary Ann Cole Caron. He is survived by his wife Carolyn Cooper Cole and his two sons, Scott Parnell Cole (Shiela) and Todd Cooper Cole (Tricia). He is also survived by 5 grandchildren – Courtney Cole Tranchina (Nick), Cameron Cole, Caitlin Cole, Victoria Quiroz, and Olivia Quiroz. And most recently was blessed with a great-grandson, Ryder James Tranchina. In addition, Jim leaves behind many in-laws, nieces and nephews. Jim attended high school at Deering High in Portland, ME, and Maine Central Institute in Pittsfield, ME. Upon graduation, he then attended college at Murray State College and Austin Peay College. After leaving college, Jim joined the Air Force for 4 years. After boot camp, he was stationed at Keesler Air Force Base where he met his wife, Carolyn. Shortly after that, Jim was deployed to Peshawar, Pakistan for 15 months. He then finished his term at SAC headquarters in Omaha, NE. Serving his country was one of the proudest phases of his life. After his 4 year stint in the Air Force, Jim and Carolyn lived in Maine for a short while, then moved to E. Haddam, Connecticut in 1967 where Jim began working as an inspector in the gear lab at Pratt-Whitney Air Craft. He worked there until 1983. He and his family decided it was time to move to Madisonville. Jim then worked as an office machine salesman, exterminator, restaurant manager, and insurance salesman before finally settling into driving a truck for Delco and then Exide Battery Co. He retired from Exide but soon realized that he wasn’t ready to retire. He then became a school bus driver and found that he should have done that many years earlier as he loved transporting the kids to school. Not only did he get to know and love many kids, he had the pleasure of getting to know several parents. He finally retired in 2020. Jim’s first love and priority in life has always been his family. But he was definitely a people person and never met a stranger. He would stop and talk to anyone who was willing to listen to his life stories. He would tell how when he was 7 years old, he took tap dancing lessons and he and his little dancing partner were invited to go to New York City and dance on television there. And it is doubtful that anyone who sat with him for more than a few minutes, that they did not hear all about the years that he played softball with his young adult sons and their friends and how they travelled to many states and participated in tournaments. And of course, what a good team they had! Jim felt so lucky to have had that experience with his sons and their friends. The stories could be never-ending but he was always so proud of his sons and grandkids and took every opportunity possible to let anyone who would listen know how proud he was of them. After moving to LA, Jim became a huge LSU fan (just about any sport) and it didn’t take him too long to decide that the only way to go to LSU football games was in an RV and tailgate for the weekend. He loved having all the family show up with their friends. And many new and special friendships were made through the tailgating experience. Jim touched a lot of lives and will be missed by many. There will be a private burial service in Loranger, LA. However, it was Jim’s wishes that there be a party for him after his passing. So a Celebration of his Life will be held on Saturday January 8, 2022 at the American Legion Hall in Covington, LA beginning at 7:00 pm. Please come and share your stories about Jim and celebrate his life with his family