Elma Laura (Galliher) Cole

Elma Laura (Galliher) Cole, currently of Madison, WI, and formerly of Indianapolis and Commiskey, IN, passed away on Wednesday, July 31, 2024.

Known to family as “Sis” and friends as “Ellie,” Elma was born March 21, 1926, outside of Commiskey, Indiana, to Alma Laura (Gasper) Galliher and Henry Cully Galliher, the first child to survive infancy. The family moved frequently around the Commiskey area, before finally settling on an 80-acre farm outside of North Vernon, IN. Family was very important to Elma, and she helped raise her five younger brothers. She graduated Paris Crossing High School in 1944, the year her family got electricity. After the war, she moved to Indianapolis, where she met and married John David Cole, her husband of 68 years. She loved to quilt, sew, and paint. Her quilts and landscapes now grace the homes of many family members. Despite moving away in her twenties, she remained a member of North Vernon’s Tea Creek Baptist Church, where she will be buried alongside John and several family members.

She is preceded in death by her husband, John Cole, her parents, five brothers, Bill, Wayne, Charles, George, Harold, and one sister, Ella Mae. She is survived by one brother, Jack (Sandy) Galliher, daughter Debra (Richard) Cole, son Dennis (Emily) Cole, and grandchildren Wesley and Molly Rideout.

A memorial service will be held at 10:30 a.m. on Thursday, August 8, 2024, at the Tea Creek Baptist Church, 5465 S County Rd 300 W, North Vernon, IN 47265. Visitation with family and friends will be from 9:30 a.m. until the time of the service. Burial will follow in the Tea Creek Baptist Church Cemetery. Dove-Sharp & Rudicel Funeral Home and Cremation Service in North Vernon were entrusted with the care of these arrangements.

In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to Tea Creek Baptist Church.

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