Cole

Roger L. Cole, 73, of DeWitt, Iowa, passed peacefully Monday at his home after a brief illness with loved ones at his side.

Roger was born in 1936 in Butler to Clarence and Zelda Cole.

He sailed the Great Lakes with the Merchant Marines. Roger moved to the Quad Cities area of Iowa and Illinois in the late 1950s and worked in the construction trades. He started his stone and brick masonry business after returning from Africa in the mid 1970s. His work lives on in the Quad Cities and surrounding area, Zimbabwe, formerly Rhodesia, in Africa and in Naguabo, Puerto Rico.

On Sept. 22, 1984, he married Sharen L. Huston in Davenport.

Roger was an active member in the Baha'i faith and cherished his friendships with members, both home and abroad. He pioneered the Baha'i faith to Rhodesia and Africa in the early 1970s and visited holy sites in Israel and Iran on behalf of the Baha'i community.

In addition to masonry and traveling, Roger enjoyed spending time with family, his grandchildren, who touched his heart, reading and watching TV, flying, traveling, playing on his computer, making new friends and visiting neighbors and old friends.

Survivors include his wife, Sharen, with whom he cherished his relationship; a daughter, Shari (Don Frantz) Cole of Naguabo, Puerto Rico; stepdaughter, Kathy (Jack Shelton) Thomas of Davenport, Iowa; stepsons, Daryl Mears of Naguabo, Puerto Rico, Bob Skinner of Las Vegas, Nev., and Tim (Denise) Skinner of Davenport; 22 grandchildren; 14 great-grandchildren; and a brother, Norman (Joyce) Cole of Silvis, Ill.

He was preceded in death by a sister and a brother.

<B>COLE</B> — Celebration of life services for Roger L. Cole, who died Monday, Aug. 31, 2009, were Wednesday at the <B>Weerts Funeral Home</B>, Davenport, Iowa. Burial was at the Davenport Memorial Park.Online condolences may be expressed to Roger's family by visiting his obituary at www.WeertsFH.com.