Cole's Story

Cole was a one-of-a-kind kid.  He lived his life to the fullest each and every day.  His love for his family and friends was something fierce.  No matter who they were or when they walked into his life, they were instant friends.

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Cole was a fun-loving jokester who was the life of the party.  He was a kind and loyal friend.  You will never meet another soul like him.  Definitely, one in a million kind of guy.  He has a laugh that is indescribable with a rattle & rasp.  His personality was infectious.

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He had a smile on his face that could light up a room.  He was always having a good time, no matter where he was.  He had a heart of gold.

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Cole was an avid athlete from his youth years to the day he was called home to be with our Lord.  He loved sports!  He spent many years either on the diamond or a football field where he made lifelong friends and brothers within our community.  He loved his time behind the boat, knee boarding and wakeboarding with family.

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Cole graduated from Alvarado High School in 2019.  After high school Cole attended McMurry University where he decided college was not his thing and wanted to withdraw.  He returned home after a few months.  As his mother I realized Cole went to college to make my heart happy, not his.

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Cole found a career at a federal detention facility where he worked as a corrections officer and moved to the maintenance department for 3 years.  He was known for his precise paperwork while on shift and was respected and loved by many co-workers for his dedication.

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Cole found the girl of his dreams; he bought a house where they planned to start a life together on family land.  Cole proposed to his fiancé Reagan and wanted to give her a "fairytale wedding".  We worked tirelessly for a year building and creating a wedding site at our home for the perfect night.  Cole invited everyone he ever met to his wedding.  His list was long.  Invitations went out 7 days before the accident.  

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One evening Cole went with friends to hang out and do what young adults do in their early twenties.  As the night went on, Cole and his friends were teaching his friend how to drive a stick shift in a jeep in the pasture.  After his friend 'got it', they decided to take Cole's modified mustang on the road to teach that friend how to drive Cole's car.

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After a few trips up and down the road, the boys lost control and rolled that modified mustang multiple times and were ejected 350' from where the car stopped.  Our lives would be forever changed by a horrible decision these boys made.  A decision where they thought they would be "right back".

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A little after 12:30 am, early one Sunday morning, we received that phone call that no parent ever wants to receive from our 18-year-old son.  He called to tell us that Cole our 22-year-old son had an accident and was unable to be found. After a second phone call our son told us that his brother had died in his arms as he was joy riding with two of his buddies.  By the grace of God one boy survived that horrific night.

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These boys were his brothers and groomsmen in his upcoming wedding. Cole was 55 days away from walking down the aisle with his fiancé, Reagan.

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As our world was torn apart by Hurricane Cole that morning, I told my husband this would not break us. How would we survive a storm like this?  How do you live with a piece of your heart in Heaven?

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Through a lot of tears, pain and heartbreak, we have clung to HOPE.  Without hope there is no tomorrow.  We have survived the tragic loss of losing a child.  We have experienced the grief no parent should ever experience.

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Days after the accident I knew we could not let the waves of grief wash us out to sea.  I knew we would have to figure out a way to survive this enormous amount of pain and one of Cole's favorite sayings growing up came to me one morning, 'NEVER GIVE UP'. 

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