A World War II veteran and longtime Leoni Township firefighter has turned 101 –and survived COVID-19.
Robert “Bob” Cole marked the milestone birthday on Monday, Jan. 18, as family gathered outside his nursing home to celebrate coronavirus style. Daughter Geraldine Boley said she hasn’t seen Cole in six months because of restrictions, and being there for his birthday was amazing.
“It was a very great day,” Boley said. “We all felt good after it because we were able to see dad and we needed to do that.”
Cole still has a slight cough but is close to being completely recovered from the virus, Boley said.
Life for Cole is always adventurous, Boley said, telling the story of how he rolled a fire truck one time while responding to a call. A driver pulled out in front of him, Boley said, and to avoid hitting the driver, Cole swerved and the fire truck rolled.
The only injury Cole had was a missing front tooth, Boley said. The driver of the car was OK, she said.