- Dates
- 2023-08-14 – 2023-09-02
- Kind
- Death
- Where
- Beaver Island
- Eras
- Modern era
- Concepts
- deathfamilycommunitygovernancetrailsfishinglabormilitary
- Within
- Beaver Island
Summary
Donald Raymond Cole died on August 14, 2023, at age 96. A family obituary preserved on the forum describes his childhood between St. James and Nomad, return to Beaver Island in the 1950s, more than three decades with the Charlevoix County Road Commission, twenty-five years in commercial fishing, and long civic involvement. Community replies remember him as a trail opener and a source of island history.
The obituary announced a September 2 graveside service at Holy Cross Cemetery, with donations requested for the Beaver Island Association Trails Project.
Evidence limits
The principal evidence is family obituary and community remembrance material. It is rich evidence for reported biography and community memory, but not an independently audited employment, trail, or civic record.
Sources
- The family tribute and follow-up obituary report Donald Raymond Cole’s August 14 death at age 96, his childhood at St. James and Nomad, return to Beaver Island in the 1950s, more than 30 years with the County Road Commission, 25 years in commercial fishing, civic work, and a September 2 graveside service. A reply credits him with opening island trails, while another recalls his stories at Paradise Bay Coffee Shop. These are family and community accounts; the record does not independently verify every occupational or trail claim.forum · www.beaverislandforum.com · 17 · t017894
Added 8 August 2026. Recent changes
Cite this article
Beaver Island Archive, “Donald Cole dies after a lifetime of Beaver Island civic and working life, 2023”, https://beaverislandarchive.org/events/beaver-island-donald-cole-death-and-island-legacy-2023/, accessed [date], citing Marie LaFreniere, “Donald Cole RIP,” Beaver Island Forum, August 14–22, 2023..
Last revised 2026-08-08. Fill in [date] with the date you read it — this page is static and cannot know that.
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