A crowd of more than 150 turns out for St. Petersburg's Dr. Edward Cole at his funeral.
By CARRIE JOHNSON
Published June 27, 2004
ST. PETERSBURG - From the countless shots of penicillin he administered to children, to his no-nonsense style of leadership, Dr. Edward L. Cole Jr. was remembered Saturday as a man who devoted his life to helping others.
"St. Petersburg is a better place because Ed Cole decided to make his home here," said Mayor Rick Baker, who addressed the crowd of more than 150 people who attended the funeral service at Christ United Methodist Church in downtown St. Petersburg.
Dr. Cole, who served as St. Petersburg's mayor from 1985 to 1987, died Monday at his home following a long illness. He was 84.
As one of the city's best known pediatricians, Dr. Cole treated generations of St. Petersburg residents. He also served on the City Council from 1965 to 1966, and again from 1989 to 1997.
There were representatives from all facets of Dr. Cole's life at his funeral. More than a dozen city leaders turned out for the event, including former mayors David Fischer and Robert Ulrich, and many City Council members, both past and present.
Baker read a resolution of memorial tribute, passed unanimously by the City Council, honoring Dr. Cole and listing his many contributions to the city. Then an honor guard from the St. Petersburg police and fire departments presented Baker with the flag flying over City Hall the day Dr. Cole died, which Baker gave to Dr. Cole's widow, Martha.
Bill Heller, former leader of the University of South Florida St. Petersburg and chairman of the school's faculty council, recounted Dr. Cole's many contributions to the school. As mayor, Dr. Cole supported efforts to buy land for the expansion of the campus in the Bayboro area.
In 1990, he gave $500,000 to the university to establish an endowed chair in ethics.
Heller remembered his first day on the job at USF, when Dr. Cole took the time to introduce him to all the important city leaders.
"He helped me see the community through his eyes," Heller said. "The human side of the city."
Heller also noted Dr. Cole's history as a leader in civil rights. In 1966, he led the fight to integrate Mound Park Hospital, the forerunner of Bayfront Medical Center. He was also one of the first doctors in St. Petersburg to integrate his waiting room.
"He didn't care where you lived," Heller said. "He didn't care how much money you had or what color your skin was."
Dr. Cole also was honored as a loving husband and father. Mitch Bayliss, whose mother married Dr. Cole in 1986, said he could always count on his stepfather to guide him toward the correct path.
"Dad led by example," Bayliss said. "He always practiced what he preached."
After the hourlong ceremony, the crowd gathered outside the church before the funeral procession to Sunnyside Cemetery to reminisce about the soft-spoken doctor.
City Council member Bill Foster, a longtime patient of Dr. Cole's, recounted stories of being driven by his parents to the doctor's office after getting bashed in the head with a baseball bat and other childhood accidents.
"It was always the greatest comfort going to Dr. Cole's," Foster said. "Because you knew, no matter what, he would put you back together again."
