Ardis Michael Cole, 92, passed away on Thursday, July 13, 2017 at Burnett-Calvert Hospice House in Prince Frederick. He had lived in Dunkirk since 1980. Ardis was born September 15, 1924 to Michael Solomon and Bessie (Horn) Cole in Cotton Valley, Louisiana. When he was a small child, the family doctor told his parents that he would not live more than a few years. After serving in WWII, he asked the doctor what had been wrong with him. The doctor hemmed and hawed but never answered. As it turned out he lived longer than any of his relatives. He met his future bride, Marian Davis, on a blind date. They were married February 15, 1948 in Linthicum Heights, MD and celebrated sixty-five years of marriage until her death on September 3, 2013. Ardis served in the Navy during WWII in the south Pacific. During the Korean War he was in the Reserve Officer Training Corps while attending college at Louisiana Tech. He graduated in 1953 with a degree in Electrical Engineering, and joined the Air Force, serving until he retired in 1974 as a Lieutenant Colonel.
He was the father of four children, James Michael Cole, of Fresno, CA, Thomas Ardis Cole of Severna Park, MD, Mary Eileen (Michael) Covault of Meridian, Idaho, and Russell William (Margaret) Cole, of Laurel, MD. As a father Ardis was known for being able to fix anything. If something broke, “Daddy fix” was heard throughout the house. As his children grew up and left home, he would travel to their homes and find projects to keep himself busy. He also never gave up a chance to go fishing.
He was preceded in death by his parents, his wife, sister Gladys, and brothers Curtis and Calvin Cole. He is survived by his four children, six grandchildren; Summer Cole, Ronda (Stacy) Gentry, Aynnie (Kurtis) Miller, Sarah (Chadwick) Davis, Richard Evan (Ruby) Wells, and Emily Wells, a step-grandson, Jon Covault, nine great-grandchildren, and a step great grandson.
Ardis had a great love for Jesus, and in his later life told how he would pray during the War to be kept safe, and that his prayers were always answered.
