Shirley Cole

WINSTON SALEM - Shirley Helena (Reinelt) Cole, 99, passed away on July 9, 2022 at Salemtowne Retirement Community.  Shirley was born on November 21, 1922 in Lawrence, Massachusetts to Fred and Lena Reinelt. The family resided in Webster, Massachusetts before moving to Cranston, Rhode Island when Shirley was in her early teens. She and her husband, James, were high school sweethearts and graduated from Cranston High School in 1940. She attended Edgewood Secretarial School and Jim was in the ROTC at the Rhode Island State College. They married on April 15, 1943 just as Jim’s ROTC Infantry Unit was called to active duty.

Jim and Shirley resided primarily in Warwick, Rhode Island when Jim returned from WWII. They had four boys, who kept her active in the PTA and Cub Scouts while employed at the Warwick Community Guidance Clinic. She was a communicant of the Spring Green Baptist Church in Warwick. In 1972 she and Jim moved to Kernersville, North Carolina where she was active in many organizations including Crisis Control and The Shepard’s Center. She and Jim were members of the Moravian Church. Since 2003 Shirley was a resident of Salemtowne in Winston-Salem.

Shirley was predeceased in 2008 by her husband of 65 years. She is survived by her four sons, Craig (Deborah), Stephen (Norma), David (Debbie) of Rhode Island, and Donald (Meredith) of Houston Texas; four grandchildren, Heather, Matthew, Alexander, and Cori, and two great grandchildren Kade and Ava.

A memorial service will be held at 4:00 pm, July 19, 2022 at Kernersville Moravian Church with Chaplain Linda Browne and Pastor Christy Clore officiating.  Hayworth-Miller Kernersville Chapel is assisting the family.