In Memory of Jeffy Cole

This page is dedicated to one of the greatest men I have ever known. Jeffy was my step-father, but treated me like his own from the time I was four. I never thought of him as a step-father, but as my other Dad. He didn't watch sports or hunt & fish like most men in our area, but he taught me about the important things in life. He lived by the words of "The Carpenter" so much that we all decided that was the most appropriate song to play as we remembered him. The words are:

Let us now praise a carpenter & the things that he made

And the way that he lived by the tools of his trade

I can still hear his hammer singin' ten penny time

Workin' by the hour till the day he died

He was tough as a crowbar, he was quick as a chisel

Fair as a plane and true as a level

He was straight as a chalkline and right as a rule

He was square with the world he took good care of his tools

He worked his hands in wood from the crib to the coffin With a care and a love you don't see too often He built boats out of wood, big boats workin' in a shipyard Mansions on the hill and a birdhouse in the backyard

He was tough as a crowbar, he was quick as a chisel

Fair as a plane and true as a level

He was straight as a chalkline and right as a rule

He was square with the world he took good care of his tools

He said anything that's worth cuttin' down a tree for Is worth doin' right, don't the Lord love a two by four If you ask him how to do somethin', he'll say just like Noah built the ark. You got to hold your mouth right son and never miss your mark.

He was tough as a crowbar, he was quick as a chisel

Fair as a plane and true as a level

He was straight as a chalkline and right as a rule

He was square with the world he took good care of his tools







Funeral services for Mr. Jeffy Cole 65, of Farmerville, LA., were held Monday, April 26, 2010, at 2:00 P.M. at Kilpatrick Funeral Home Chapel with Rev. George Welch officiating. Burial will follow in Farmerville City Cemetery under direction of Kilpatrick Funeral Home in Farmerville, LA.

Mr. Cole was born on December 28, 1944 and passed away on April 24, 2010. He was a retired residential contractor and owner of Cole’s Antiques. He was preceded in death by his parents George and Lorine Cole, and brother, Don Cole.

He is survived by his wife Vicki Cole of Farmerville, LA; daughter, Kathy Frasier and husband Steven of Farmerville, LA; son Robert Lemoine and wife Summer of Marion, LA; three grandchildren, Cole Daniel Frasier, Alex Lemoine, and Paul Lemoine; sisters, Elaine Baker of Farmerville, LA; Billy Sunshine Harrison of Houston, TX; brother, Gerald Cole of Marion, LA; and Mickey Cole of Longview, TX; numerous nieces and nephews.

Pallbearers will be Joe Booth, Mickey O’Brien, Skip Boyd, Harvey Ramsey, Keith McClure and Elbie Yates.

Honorary Pallbearers will be Stanley Read, Bruce Stanley, Stein Baughman, Levi Griffin, Zeke Tettleton, Bo Craighead, Fennie Perkins, and Bobby Kelley.

Visitation was held on Monday, April 26, 2010 from 12:00 P.M. till time of service.

Online condolences may be sent to the family at www.kilpatrickfuneralhomes.com.



Although some time has passed, I still find myself trying to call for his advice or instructions. He will not be forgotten.



Below are the songs we chose to remember and honor him with. I hope and pray that one day I will be half the man that he didn't have to be.

















Earning a Dollar (published in the Bernice Banner, written by Robert Lemoine)

A dollar. It used to be so much. Now it seems like it's nothing. The new generation has no appreciation for the cost of a dollar. The youth of today see us go to the store and slide a piece of plastic through the machine and we leave with "stuff". They have no idea how it works. My wife and I try to pay with cash on most items so our kids see it's not magic. They watch us at flea markets when people give us money in exchange for merchandise. I think this summer we will let our kids bring back the "lemonade stand". I think it will help them to understand how a dollar works. When I was younger, I wanted a toy that cost about $50 and that was a lot of money for a toy in the early '80's. I was told "NO". But then my very insightful step-Dad said I could work for it. He had a pile of bricks that had just been thrown into a pile in the wrong spot in the yard and needed them stacked neatly by the fence on the other side of the yard about 250 - 300 feet away. I carried bricks one in each hand, then stacks of 4 or 5 at a time, and then just whatever I could handle. I was so tired. Every day after school for about a week I carried and stacked bricks until dark. When all of the bricks were moved, I was given the money to go get that toy...it was the first Optimus Prime Transformer. I paid for it with my HARD EARNED DOLLARS and had maybe a couple of dollars change back. A few years ago, they moved that stack of bricks to almost where they started out at. Anyway, I hope to give our kids the same life lesson that a dollar is not just something everybody has and that you have to EARN it. Keep in mind that when we were growing up, our parents went to the bank to deposit a paycheck and went to the bank to get money. It was real, not just a "magic" piece of plastic.

This story was originally written on April 16, 2009. I failed to mention in the story that I still have that toy tucked away in storage. Jeffy Cole, the man who taught me about a dollar, left this world on April 24, 2010. His birthday is quickly approaching and I thought this would be a great tribute to him. After his passing, those bricks moved once again. They are now in my yard, stacked neatly where my boys placed them. That’s right, I used them to teach the same value I learned as a small boy. Who knows, those same bricks may be used in the future to teach another generation the value of a dollar.

May you all have a Merry Christmas and a blessed New Year. God bless you all.