Shirley Olivia (Bass) Cole

Shirley Olivia Cole

September 22, 1933 - January 31, 2021

Shirley died peacefully at home with Harold Cole, her husband of 72 years, by her side.

Her surviving family includes her son Joe, his wife Kim and her daughter-in-law Paulie.

She was preceded in death by her oldest son, Terry. She and Harold include Christopher Cole, Sean Cole, Stacey Cole Martinez, Brian Cole and Rick Cole as dearly loved grandchildren. They have seven great grandchildren.

Shirley and Harold arrived in Sierra Vista in January 1962 and have been involved community members for the last 59 years. Shirley’s many accomplishments include her professional upholstery business and grand champion bridge status. She was an excellent bowler and an expert baseball scorekeeper. She drove a school bus locally and transported teams from Buena to games for many years. She and Harold traveled to their sons’ baseball games from University of Arizona to Arizona Western, Cochise College to Mississippi State to Missouri. They enjoyed watching their grandson’s play and were a fixture at games at all levels.

Shirley made hundreds of pecan pies over the years, sharing with friends at Christmas. She made excellent Mexican food and fed entire teams after practices and games, always having enough.

She made dozens and dozens of cookies and shipped them off regularly to families as far away as Atlanta.

Shirley was an avid sports fan- no matter what season or shape of ball. She enjoyed televised games as much as her husband Harold, never missing U of A or Diamondbacks if possible.

Through this past year with few games to watch, She and Harold spent each day traveling the backroads of the area on daily drives. She loved the desert and all the beauty she saw in it.

Shirley was an eternal optimist- glass always half full. She wore rose colored glasses and never took them off. She had a generous nature giving of her time and talents. She was loved and she will be dearly missed.

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