Norma Frances (Smythe) Cole (1936 - 2024)

Born 4 Jul 1936 in Decherd, Franklin, Tennessee, United States

Ancestors

Wife of Sidney Lewis Cole — married Feb 1958 in Winchester, Franklin, Tennessee, United States

Descendants

Died 2 Mar 2024 at age 87 in Murfreesboro, Rutherford, Tennessee, United States

Problems/Questions Profile manager: Olivia Cunningham [send private message]

Biography

Norma (Smythe) Cole was a Tennessean.

Norma (Smythe) Cole was born in Appalachia, in Tennessee. See Appalachia Project.

Norma was Catholic.

Norma, a lifelong resident of Tennessee, was born to Pat Smythe and Nell Adcox in 1936 in Decherd, but grew up in the community of Sherwood, later moving to Sewanee with her family after the closing of Gager Lime, then eventually to Winchester, where she stayed for the rest of her life.

She was a 1954 graduate of Franklin County High School, and in 1957 she met Sidney Cole, and the two married in February of 1958 in the old Good Shepherd Church in Winchester, welcoming a daughter later that year.

She got her first job working at a dime store while still attending school. Right after graduating, she began working at Southern Bell (AT&T) as a switch operator, and later becoming a service representative, working in Winchester, Fayetteville, Shelbyville, Tullahoma, and later Huntsville, where she stayed until her retirement in 1991.

Norma was a longtime member of Good Shepherd Catholic Church and the definition of a true Christian woman. She was known for her kind and charismatic nature, and she was always there to lend a helping hand to both humans and animals. She always made sure to try and give to those who needed it. Everyone who knew her knew that they could always rely on her when they needed help.

Norma was a natural caretaker, gladly spending time caring for multiple people in their later years including her mother, her husband, and a longtime family friend.

She passed away at the age of 87 in a hospice care facility in Murfreesboro after a long illness.

Sources

• Cunningham, Olivia. Personal recollection, September 2021 and March 2024.

• Cole, Norma. Personal recollection, 2021, as told to Cunningham, Olivia in person.

• Year: 1940; Census Place: Franklin, Tennessee; Roll: m-t0627-03891; Page: 11A; Enumeration District: 26-15

• United States of America, Bureau of the Census; Washington, D.C.; Seventeenth Census of the United States, 1950; Record Group: Records of the Bureau of the Census, 1790-2007; Record Group Number: 29; Residence Date: 1950; Home in 1950: Franklin, Tennessee;

• Tennessee State Library and Archives; Nashville, TN, USA; Tennessee State Marriages, 1780-2002

• Publication Date: 27/ Feb/ 1958; Publication Place: Nashville, Tennessee, USA; URL: https://www.newspapers.com/image/111389621/?article=69909bb0-8646-4b30-abc5-e019b8d97939&focus=0.036343966,0.23333181,0.40576604,0.31614405&xid=3398

• Find a Grave, database and images (https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/265960760/norma_frances-cole: accessed March 3, 2024), memorial page for Norma Frances Smythe Cole (4 Jul 1936–2 Mar 2024), Find a Grave Memorial ID 265960760, citing Franklin Memorial Gardens, Winchester, Franklin County, Tennessee, USA; Maintained by SheepBlack (contributor 50915042).

• Obituary for Norma Frances Smythe Cole