Theresa Ann Jackson b. July 28, 1891 Bloomfield, Missouri - d. August 16, 1973 Farmington, Missouri.
Married - Elbert Carl Cole, Sr. on March 14, 1909 in Bloomfield, MO.
Elbert Carl Cole, Sr. b. April 3, 1891 Bloomfield, Mo. - d. March, 12, 1968 Fredericktown, Mo.

Theresa Cole and Cousin at Liberty School, Bloomfield, MO about 1908
Our Mother finished 8th grade at Liberty School in Bloomfield, Mo. And the next two years she trained under
the 8th grade teacher. After those two years she became the regular 8th grade teacher at Liberty. Our father
 farmed and delivered the mail on a Bloomfield rural route, in the horse drawn mail wagon. Later he covered
 the route in a Model T Ford.


For a short time the family lived in Advance, Mo. where Elbert, Sr. was a telegrapher at the depot. Elbert, Jr.
was born there at that time. In 1921 the family moved to St. Louis, Mo. in the Walnut Park neighborhood on
the north side. Gene was born there in 1926, in the back bedroom with the delivery assisted by a mid-wife.
The address of this modest frame house was 5420 Partridge at the intersection of Riverview, across from the
 Fire House. The family attended Wesley Methodist Church close by, were Norma was later married to Ben Smith.

Mother worked for about three years before Gene was born, at Nugent’s Department Store downtown St. Louis,
as a sales clerk. Nugent’s late became Stix Baer Fuller. After that time she was a homemaker taking good care
of the family. Our Father for about 15 years worked as a conductor on a trolley street car line, with St. Louis Public
 Service. Part of this job was to feed the coal burning stove on the back of the street car during the winter months
to keep the passengers warm. On the side he was a general contractor and built several bungalow houses in the
Walnut park area. During that time he and his brother in law, Edward Jackson, Sr. also built some together.

Dad later returned to the postal service as a letter carrier at the Baden Station where he delivered mail in Jennings,
 a suburb of St. Louis. This time he walked with a leather bag on his shoulder.
He worked there until his retirement at age 65.

The Cole family moved several times after the Partridge home. To Ashland Avenue, Garasche Ave just off
Goodfellow, 4115 Dressell close to the Pine Lawn neighborhood, 5114 Hamilton Avenue in Jennings and finally to
1724 McLaren in St. Louis, a large (we thought) two story white frame house with a huge sycamore tree in the
side yard. During most of this later time our parents and Gene while still at home, were very active in the
Mt. Auburn Methodist Church which was close to the Wellston area. Gene was later married there to June Spence
 in 1950.

About 1931 during the depression, our older sister Norma and her husband Ben, shortly after they were married,
decided to start a restaurant in Springfield, Mo. The Ben-Nor Diner. While Dad maintained the flat on Ashland in
St. Louis, our Mother, Elbert, Jr. and Gene went to Springfield to help get the restaurant established, living with
Norma and Ben. After almost a year Norma and Ben decided the restaurant business was not for them and all
returned to St. Louis.

Wherever we lived, there was always a garden with plenty of good tomatoes, lettuce and corn. If our yard was big
 enough or if there was some vacant ground nearby, a chicken house was built by our Dad to raise chickens.
At that time in the 1940’s there were no restrictions as to what you could do even in the city.

Dad always had some regular customers that would buy his chicken eggs and vegetables. Sunday dinners after
 church, always included fried chicken, mashed potatoes and gravy and homemade Parker House rolls.
Dinner always included a delicious dessert of cream pies or cakes always right out of the oven.

After another short move to Jerries Lane in St. Louis County, about 1960 after all the children were married and
no longer at home, our parents moved to Farmington, Mo. to get back to a smaller community and a bigger yard
 to have a larger garden. Elbert, Jr. served as the Pastor of the Farmington Methodist Church for several years
 (1949-1956) which connected them to many friends and the reason for the Farmington move. As always they
were active in worship and all the activities at the church.

Our Father died at the age of 76 with heart failure in the Fredericktown Hospital which was just a few miles south
of Farmington. At the time of his death the new Farmington Hospital had not been built. Later our Mother died at
the Farmington Memorial Hospital with all four of the children at her bedside. Our Mother was age 82 at her death
 which was due to Parkinson’s and Arteriosclerosis. Both were buried at the Valhalla Cemetery in St. Louis, Mo.
on St. Charles Rock Road.