Carol Ann Cole

Carol Ann Cole of Pennington passed away on Thursday, March 12th after battling severe intestinal bleeding. The daughter of John and Francis Tempone of Roslindale, Massachusetts, she is survived by her husband of 58 years, Graham Cole, her two sons, Joshua and Jamieson, and her grandsons, Christian and Liam. Her sister, Eleanor, predeceased her.

Carol graduated from Michigan State University in 1965 and earned a master’s degree in urban planning from Rutgers University. She worked for Sterling Institute of Boston, taught high school history in Kansas, and held a major administrative role at the Child Care Connection in Lawrenceville, New Jersey. With a keen interest in politics and history, she was an active member of the League of Women Voters in Lawrenceville and served on various municipal committees in both Lawrenceville and Simsbury, Connecticut, as well as on Democratic party committees in Pennington. During her husband’s tenure as Headmaster at Westminster School in Simsbury, she worked in the library and was the quintessential Head’s spouse. Upon the couple’s return to Lawrenceville for retirement in 2010, she assisted in the library at the Lawrenceville School, where they had previously worked for 20 years.

A lifelong, devoted Boston Red Sox fan who later in life also grew fond of the Mets, Carol loved hiking, bike tours, quilting, reading when time allowed, and her daily exercise regimen. She took special joy in being “Nonna” to her grandsons and always spoke with great fondness of the extended family with whom she grew up. Though she sometimes questioned the Catholic Church’s actions, she almost never missed Saturday mass, which remained an important part of her life.

Above all, she was a wonderful person—kind, thoughtful, sensitive, helpful, loyal, and loving—always thinking of others.