Howard (Russ) Russell Cole 80, of Bensalem passed quietly in his sleep on November 5th at Aria-Jefferson Health of Torresdale, surrounded by his family, after a short but swift battle with Leukemia.
Russ was born in Philadelphia to the late Howard and Margaret (Stark) Cole on March 4th 1937 and lived most of his life in Bensalem. Russ was a devoted husband of 60 years to the love of his life and wife Esther (Esher) Cole. He was a loving father to Tracy and husband Richard Malley, Trudy Cole and husband Robert Driver, Russell Cole and wife Michele, and Randall Cole and wife Grace. He will be sadly missed by his grandchildren: Kevin, Sierra, Robert, Kayla, Julia, Russell, Matthew, and Zachary. He is preceded in death by his parents as well as his sisters Doris Myers and Shirley Valan. Russ was very accomplished. He graduated from Bensalem High School in 1956 but was a life-long learner studying welding, air conditioning, refrigeration, commercial, residential and industrial wiring, circuitry, electronics, mechanical drawing, physics, semiconductor devices, and blue print reading. But he was not just book-read. He was an inquisitive sponge when it came to anything that had moving parts. His love for learning and inquisitive nature took him far beyond his boiler-maker position at the US Steel Corporation. He soon moved on to Journeyman, electro-mechanical and then ultimately to an Industrial Electrician position. Russ demonstrated what hard work looked like by concurrently working nights and weekends as the owner and operator of Coleweld Inc. a welding and maintenance company. After the mill could not hold him down, He moved to Continental Electric as their Maintenance Manager and Multi-skilled Craftsman. When he had learned what he could there, he found his way to RREEF Funds as their Operations Technician then to ATX Research as their Operations Technician. Beyond his paid positions, Russ was a true tinkerer —as comfortable under the hood of a car, the back of a washing machine or anything else with moving parts that was in need of attention. He had a love for flight. When his children were young, he taught them to build and fly kites. Later, he built and flew his own model airplanes. He loved to travel – visiting most of the United States and even a bit of Canada and Mexico. When asked what his greatest accomplishments were in life, he said his family. He was extremely proud of his four children and his extended family. Although at times he was a man of few words, his love for and support of his family was demonstrated through his endless acts of kindness. Friends and family are invited to Russ’ Life Celebration, tomorrow (Thursday), from 1-2 pm (eulogy to follow) at Tomlinson Funeral Home, 2207 Bristol Pike, Bensalem, PA 19020 In lieu of flowers, donations can be made, in Russ’ name, to The American Heart Association and/or The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society.