Eugene Clifford Cole

Eugene Clifford Cole was born March 22, 1921, to Clifford and Ethel Warrick Cole in Preston, Idaho. He quietly passed away on February 23, 2020. He had 6 siblings; five have passed away, and he is survived by his brother Gordon Cole.

He joined the Navy and fought in World War II. He was a gunner on the battleship J.B. Francis. He received several medals for his participation in the war.

He married Rhea Glover, and they had two children: Joan (Clark) Weeks, deceased, and Gerald (Kathleen) Cole of Preston.

He loved the outdoors; hunting and fishing were his passion. He took up painting at an early age, studying under several famous artists, including Norman Rockwell. He had a natural ability to paint and live each of his paintings, whether western on a saddle horse or high on a rocky ledge compiling information for wildlife, has embedded him with a love of nature.

He has 9 grandchildren, 23 great-grandchildren, and 24 great-great-grandchildren.

Funeral services will be conducted at 11:00 AM on Wednesday, February 26, 2020, at the Franklin County Funeral Home, 56 South State Street, Preston, Idaho. A visitation will occur from 9:30 to 10:30 AM before funeral services. Interment will follow in the Preston Cemetery.