Mary Cole

Mary Eleanor McLure Cole passed to eternal rest on July 14, at the age of 84.She was a native of Shreveport, Louisiana, born on December 15, 1930 to Herbert K. McLure and Nattye Bell McLure.

She was a graduate of Byrd High School in Shreveport. She received a B.A. and B.S. in Foods and Nutrition from Texas Women's University and an M.S. in Foods and Nutrition from Louisiana State University. She was a registered dietician (RD) who worked as Manager of the LSU Pentagon Dining Hall for seven years and Director of Child Nutrition of East Baton Rouge Parish for seventeen years during which she pioneered an innovative menu planning method sponsored by the U.S. Department of Agriculture and helped to feed over 57,000 students. She was a tireless advocate for better childhood nutrition.

An active member of University United Methodist Church for over fifty years, she was also a president of United Methodist Women and an active member of the J.O.Y. Sunday school class. She served as a founding member of Baton Rouge Youth Services; Secretary of the Inter-Civic Council of Baton Rouge; President of Louisiana School Food Service Association and Baton Rouge Dietetic Association. She was proud of her Scottish heritage and belonged to the Caledonian Society of Baton Rouge. For over forty-eight years, she was an active member of the Altrusa Club of Baton Rouge, a service organization of women from a broad spectrum of professions, specializing in community needs, especially literacy for underserved children and adults. She was a founding member of the Altrusa Foundation of Baton Rouge, a nonprofit service organization whose main purpose is promoting literacy and serving community needs. Her friendships with fellow Altrusans were among the most important in her life.

She was preceded in death by daughter Cheryl Lee Cole Pope; father Herbert Kay McLure; brother Herbert K. McLure; and mother Nattye Bell McLure.

She was a fiercely loving mother to her three children and a devoted wife and partner to her husband of sixty-three years.

She leaves behind her beloved family, her husband and best friend James (Jim) F. Cole; her son, Dr. John T. Cole of New Orleans; her daughter Natalie Bell Cole of Royal Oak, Michigan; her daughter-in-law Dr. Lois Mailander of New Orleans; and grandchildren Hollis Cole Henry of St. Paul, Minnesota, and Gordon Alexander Cole and Emma Claire Cole of New Orleans.

Visitation with the Cole family will be held in the sanctuary of University United Methodist Church from 10 a.m. to 11 a.m. on Saturday, July 18, followed by a memorial service also in the church sanctuary starting at 11: 15 a.m. There will be a private inurnment.

Those wishing to make donations in her memory may make them to University United Methodist Church, 3350 Dalrymple Drive, Baton Rouge, LA 70802.

Visitation

University United Methodist Church
3350 Dalrymple Drive
Baton Rouge, LA  70802
Saturday, July 18, 2015
10:00 am-11:00 am

Service

University United Methodist Church
3350 Dalrymple Drive
Baton Rouge, LA  70802
Saturday, July 18, 2015
11:15 am