Harriet Octavia (Buckley) Cole was the loving wife of Edwards
J. Cole, Sr., mother of six, grandmother of thirteen and great-grandmother
to eight. Mrs. Cole relocated from Mississippi in the 1950s to
Champaign, Illinois with her husband and children. She served
in several different employment and community service capacities
within the Champaign-Urbana area.
Mrs. Cole did not complete her high school education while in
Mississippi, however, wanting to be an example for her children
and others, she was not content to settle for this. While working,
Mrs. Cole enrolled in classes and received her G.E.D. from the
Opportunities Industrialization Center (OIC). Mrs. Cole had worked
as a domestic engineer, with White Line Laundry, Magnavox, Francis
Nelson Health Center, Eisner Bakery and Sears.
Mrs. Cole's community service accomplishments included membership
in Church Women United; NCNW, Urban League Guild (former President),
NAACP, Champaign County Cooperative Extension Home-Makers (Mary
Bethune Unit) where she had recruited and mentored many young
women, 4-H Leader, Cub Scout Leader, Champaign County Election
Judge, Sunday School Superintendent/Director, Sunday School teacher,
Deaconess and Choir member.
She had for many years been a Mt. Olive Baptist Church delegate
to the Wood River District Association, Baptist General State
Congress of Illinois and National Baptist Convention. Mrs. Cole
is now deceased.
Octavia
Cole