William "Bill" Cole

May 23, 1937 - September 20, 2021

William “Bill” Cole, 84, of Watervliet Township, retired Benton Harbor School teacher, died Monday, September 20, 2021, in the care of his family at his residence. Services celebrating his life will be held at 11 AM on Saturday, Sept 25, at the Midway Baptist Church with Rev. Ron Hayes officiating. Burial will follow in Fairview Cemetery in Watervliet Township. The visitation will be held on Friday from 6 PM to 8 PM at the Midway Baptist Church. Arrangements are by the Davidson Chapel of Florin Funeral Service in Coloma. Memorials may be made to the Midway Baptist Church. Please share messages or memories at www.florin.net. Bill was born on May 23, 1937 in Floyd County, KY to Lewis Cole and Cynthia Shepherd Cole. He was a 6th grade school teacher in the Benton Harbor School System at many of the different school buildings from 1965 until he retired in 1994. Bill had close to 30 years of teaching. After retirement he continued on to be a substitute teacher for several of the area school systems and in the last few years substituted at the Watervliet Public Schools. Teaching and interacting with the students was his life. In 1970 he received his Master’s Degree in Education from Andrews University. Bill married his second wife, Jearldine, and together they celebrated 18 years of marriage before she preceded him in death in 2021. Bill was also very active and a longtime member of the Midway Baptist Church. He was a Junior High Sunday School teacher, drove the Church bus and received a 40 year pin for his participation in the youth ministries of the church. His hobby was farming where he enjoyed getting out in the sun and growing vegetables. He also collected antique farm equipment. Bill and his wife also enjoyed their dogs. He was a kind and generous individual who had a great sense of humor. Bill was a gentleman and a family man who loved his family. His family includes his daughters, Stephanie (Scott) Conway of Mattawan and Cheryl (Dale) Midkiff of Coloma; his step children, Debbie (Jimmy) Singleton of Statesville, NC, Ginger (Rick) Fedewa of Wabash, IN, and Tammy (Troy) Pierce of Lexington, NC; his brothers, Belve (Linda) Cole of Wabash, IN and Raymond Cole of Hazard County, KY; his sister, Evelyn Turner of Lexington, KY; his 3 grandchildren and his 1 great grandchild. He was also preceded in death by his first wife, Hollis, and a daughter, Gayle Mueller