Memorial Service for Charles Russell Cole

2:00pm

Order of Service:

Video

Welcome, prayer: Jason

Song—Amazing Grace (My Chains are Gone)

Scripture: Caleb Kubacak (“koob-uh-chek”), 1 Corinthians 15:50-57

Song—I Will Rise by Chris Tomlin

Scripture: Hunter Cole, Revelation 21:1-7

Message: Jason (~20 minutes), 1 Thessalonians 4:13-14

Song—Our God and Our King, by NLC Worship

Prayer: Jason

Obituary

Charles Russell Cole

January 1, 1943 – December 17, 2025

Charles Russell Cole, 82, of Fort Smith, Arkansas, passed away on December 17, 2025, Circumstances (e.g. surrounded by loving family).

Charles was born January 1, 1943 in Fort Smith, Arkansas, the only child to parents Russell Hunter Cole & Bessie Purcell Cole.

Charles graduated from Fort Smith High School in 1961, then went on to the University of Arkansas earning a Bachelor of Science degree in Civil Engineering. After college, he worked as a pipeline engineer in Searcy, Arkansas where he joined the First Baptist Church of Searcy.

Charles married Rena “Sue” Anderson in 1966? They mourned the loss of their firtborn, Charlene Renee Cole, after only one day of life. But, in 1973, they welcomed their adoptive son, Jon Russell Cole, into their family.

Shortly after his son, Jon, was born, Charles and Sue moved to Pocahontas, where Charles was the District Superintendent pipeline engineer for Natural Gas Pipeline of America for over 20 years.

Charles especially loved fishing, hunting and animals, especially dogs. He also loved the outdoors and collecting antiques.

Remaining to cherish Charles memory is their son Jon Cole (wife Julianne), and grandchildren Hunter Cole, Ashlyn (Curtis) Simmons, Caleb (Mary Catherine) Kubacak, Coryn (Tyler) Anderson, and three great grandchildren.

Preceding Charles in death are his parents Russell & Bessie Cole, his wife Rena Sue Cole, and his daughter Charlene Renee Cole.

Eulogy

We’re here this afternoon to celebrate the life of a father and grandfather who loved his family.

Hobbies

Charles was a man of many hobbies and interests. He loved the outdoors—fishing, hunting, and animals in general, but especially dogs.

He also loved movies and movie quotes. As they were going through Charles’ things recently, Jon found a document filled with random movie quotes. He loved classic rock, and he loved eating. In fact, he was known to scout out restaurants in advance whenever he had to travel, just to make sure they were open and worth visiting!

But his favorite hobby might have been collecting antiques. Charles loved antiques! Jon says that when he was younger and they were traveling, a drive that should have been 5-6 hours would turn into a dawn to dusk adventure as they stopped at every little antique shop along the way! He loved photography and collected lots of vintage cameras. He also collected coins, stamps, art, vintage signs, and wood carvings. But all of those paled in comparison to his knife collection, which numbered in the thousands. Collecting knives was an interest that he and his best friend of decades, Steve, shared.

School/Work

Charles was a civil engineer for most of his life. Shortly after he graduated from the University of Arkansas with his degree in Civil Engineering he got his first job as a pipeline engineer in Searcy, AR.

After Searcy, he worked for a time in Dumas, Texas as a Superintendent pipeline engineer.

But, when their son Jon was born, the family returned to Arkansas and settled in Pocahontas, where Charles served as the District Superintendent pipeline engineer for Natural Gas Pipeline of America for over 20 years.

He was a hard worker and loyal to his job and his company and provided for his family.

Personal Character and love for family

Charles loved his family. He was an only child, and when his mother, Bessie, was aging and passing away, Charles cared for her well.

He had a close relationship with his son, Jon, and with his grandkids. Jon has many fond memories of sharing the outdoors with Charles when he was younger, and since Charles’ mom’s passing, they have become especially close.

His son, Jon, was a God-send and answer to Charles’ and Sue’s prayers after the heartache of a tragic loss. Their firstborn child, a daughter named Charlene Renee Cole, passed away at just one day old, an event that tested their faith.

But, God blessed them with another child. Charles and Sue adopted Charles before he was even born. And while they may not have shared DNA, Jon shared many precious memories with his dad, Charles.

Faith Legacy

Charles grew up in a Christian home. His mother, Bessie, was a faithful Sunday School teacher for many years and a prayer warrior. Her bible shows she prayed fervently for Charles and routinely shared scripture with him.

Charles attended Grand Avenue Baptist Church in Fort Smith in his younger years, and when he moved to Searcy, he joined as a member of First Baptist Church of Searcy.

Charles was not a particularly talkative man. He’s not the kind of guy that would just open up and tell you his deepest thoughts. But, in a recent conversation with his best friend, Steve, Charles expressed his faith in the Lord. Steve asked Charles if he was right with the Lord, and Charles said “yes.”

Gospel

And, if Charles were able to be here today, he would want you to be sure that you could answer that same question. “Are you right with the Lord?”

We don’t like to think about death, but times like this force us to, and that’s a blessing in and of itself, because it allows us to reflect upon our own lives and our own eternal destinies.

The Bible tells us that God created the world perfect, with no disease, pain, suffering, or death. And he created humans to rule over his creation and reflect his glory and goodness.

But, our first human parents, Adam and Eve broke God’s laws, which is called sin, and since then, every other human being has sinned and broken God’ laws as well, except for Jesus.

In Rom. 3:23 we read “for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,” I think that intuitively, all of us know that. We know that we’re not perfect. Many times, we don’t even measure up to our own standards of goodness, let alone the standard of a perfect, holy God.

Romans 3:23 ESV

23 for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,

And, the reason that there is death in this world now is because of sin. Scripture tells us that the penalty for sin is death, and since everyone has sinned, every one of us will eventually die. All of us will one day have a service like this.

Romans 6:23 ESV

23 For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.

There’s a price to be paid for our sins, for breaking the laws of the King of the Universe, I think if we’re honest with ourselves, we know that that’s fair. Wrongdoing has to be punished, otherwise the world would descend into even worse chaos than we already see around us!

But, physical death is not the only consequence of our sin. Sin also breaks our relationship with God. It strips us of our purpose and fills our lives with suffering and heartache. And, if we remain in our sin and don’t accept God’s offer of salvation, we remain separated from God eternally.

But, the good news is that Jesus came and lived the perfect life that you and I could never live. He perfectly obeyed God’s laws, and then he gave himself up for us as a sacrifice in our place—the righteous for the unrighteous, that he might bring us to God—a great exchange.

1 Peter 3:18 ESV

18 For Christ also suffered once for sins, the righteous for the unrighteous, that he might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh but made alive in the spirit,

And so, even though the wages of sin is death, God offers us the free gift of eternal life with God.

Romans 6:23 ESV

23 For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.

The good news is that you can, in fact, be “right” or “righteous” in God’s eyes. Not by being a good person or by having enough good deeds to outweigh your bad deeds. Scripture is very clear on that, we can’t be saved by our works or our own efforts.

Ephesians 2:8–9 ESV

8 For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, 9 not a result of works, so that no one may boast.

But, if we believe in Jesus Christ and what he did for us—that he took the penalty for our sins, died on the cross in our place, and rose again the third day—we will be saved.

Romans 10:9 ESV

9 ...if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.

This means that it is possible for our relationship with God to be restored. And while we will all still die physically one day, we don’t have to be separated from God eternally. We can have eternal life with God, where everything is perfect and as it was meant to be from the beginning.

And, based upon Charles’ profession, that is the life that he is now enjoying.

See, when a sinner repents of his sins and trusts in Jesus, not only is that person forgiven, given a new life, and freed from the eternal penalties of their sin, but they—just like Jon—are adopted into the family of God.

John 1:12–13 ESV

12 But to all who did receive him, who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God, 13 who were born, not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but of God.

And so, if you believe in Jesus, you are adopted into the family of God, made a child of the king of the universe, and given an inheritance as a prince or princess.

And so, even though this world is still broken and imperfect, we know that if we believe in Christ, we have an inheritance waiting for us as sons and daughters of the king.

Romans 8:22–23 ESV

22 For we know that the whole creation has been groaning together in the pains of childbirth until now. 23 And not only the creation, but we ourselves, who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly as we wait eagerly for adoption as sons, the redemption of our bodies.

One day, Jesus will return with those who have already died and gone to heaven and he will take those of us who are still alive, who have believed in him—his sons and daughters—to be with him in heaven.

1 Thessalonians 4:13–18 ESV

13 But we do not want you to be uninformed, brothers, about those who are asleep, that you may not grieve as others do who have no hope. 14 For since we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so, through Jesus, God will bring with him those who have fallen asleep. 15 For this we declare to you by a word from the Lord, that we who are alive, who are left until the coming of the Lord, will not precede those who have fallen asleep. 16 For the Lord himself will descend from heaven with a cry of command, with the voice of an archangel, and with the sound of the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first. 17 Then we who are alive, who are left, will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and so we will always be with the Lord. 18 Therefore encourage one another with these words.

All of us will one day die, but we don’t have to be afraid of death if we believe in Jesus. We can have hope! Because for those who believe in Jesus and give their lives to him, death is just the beginning of eternal life with God.

I don’t want to live forever in this world. It’s broken, messy, and many days just depressing. But, I am looking forward to eternal life with God.

The passage that Hunter read describes the new heaven and new earth that God is going to make one day, a world without sin, suffering, and death:

Revelation 21:1–7 ESV

1 Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and the sea was no more. 2 And I saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. 3 And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, “Behold, the dwelling place of God is with man. He will dwell with them, and they will be his people, and God himself will be with them as their God. 4 He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away.” 5 And he who was seated on the throne said, “Behold, I am making all things new.” Also he said, “Write this down, for these words are trustworthy and true.” 6 And he said to me, “It is done! I am the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end. To the thirsty I will give from the spring of the water of life without payment. 7 The one who conquers will have this heritage, and I will be his God and he will be my son.

So, I want to ask you that question: “Are you right with God?” Charles’ profession was that he was. And those who are right with the Lord, who have believed in him and placed their faith in him, have hope after death. Hope of eternal life with God in a place where there is no more pain, suffering, or death—no more goodbyes.

If you would like to know more about how you can have that hope, I would love to talk with you. If Charles could be here today, he would want you to be right with the Lord.

Jon, the family and his friends will miss everything about Charles until they see him again, especially his characteristic laugh!

But, by the grace of God, they will enjoy many more laughs to come in eternity. And because of that, we do not grieve as those who have no hope.