James COLE Obituary

Photos refered to in my tribute to Jim

After reexamining Jim Cole's seminal 1970 paper on Tarawera, I regret not contacting him in time. His publications I'm sure will continue to be cited. I also regret he had no opportunity to examine and conceivably advise on our research.

Jim changed my life with a simple conversation on a Geological Society of New Zealand field trip to the Taupo Volcanic Zone, and a follow up invitation to do an MSc at the University of Canterbury. As a supervisor, he was always helpful and his love for volcanology was contagious. The attached photo is from my MSc thesis and shows Jim at one of the outcrops in Orton Bradley Park on Banks Peninsula in 1991. Thank you Jim for all you shared.

I was so sorry to hear of Jim's death. May I pass my condolences to his family and friends.
Jim and I were at Leicester together. In 1960 we joined an "expedition" to Arctic Norway - a memorable experience.

Jim Cole was part of a group of four A-level geology students at Ashford Grammar School under the inspired tutelage of Frank Kenworthy,. All of the group went on to gain degrees and careers in geology. Amongst so many friendly memories, we all remember a trip to the Isle of Wight to study the island's geology. Jim's dad ran a garage and lent a Morris 8 for us all to drive across country to the island. Jim drove as he alone had passed the driving test. There, staying in a hotel for £3 per week, we worked tirelessly on the island's outstanding structures , stratigraphy and lithologies. That was our first expedition, the first of many we made separately in different parts of the world. I used to join Jim and his family from time to time at an old railway carriage at Dungeness: a wonderful wildland and bird sanctuary that encouraged even more exploration in the countryside.We re-established monthly contact via zoom recently, and enjoyed reminiscences, politics and family stories. He will be greatly missed.

Jim and I went to Ashford Grammar School (AGS) in Kent in the 1950s. We were so fortunate to have had Frank Kenworthy as our inspiring geography and geology teacher. One of the photos I have added shows a young Jim on a field trip with Frank and his fellow students. Over the last few years Jim was a member, together with Roy Clements, Ron Cooke and I, of the AGS Octogenarians Zoom group who met monthly to reminisce and chew the cud. Last year the four of us, plus another former AGS student, established the Frank Kenworthy Fund in recognition of the lasting influence Frank had on the rest of our lives and careers. The fund will support the training of new geology teachers. Reading through all the tributes that have been made to Jim it´s clear that history has repeated itself as he too had a huge influence on the lives and careers of his students. Another recurrent theme of the tributes is Jim´s caring and unflappable nature. This goes right back to his school days.
Barbara and visited Jim and Christine a couple of times in Christchurch and the last time I saw them was when they stayed with Ron in York in 2016. Our last Zoom session with Jim was a month before he died. We will miss him dearly during our forthcoming February session and doubtless share many happy memories of our old friend.
Barbara and I send our thoughts and deepest sympathies to Duncan and Michael and their families.
The photos I have added bring back happy memories for me - I hope they will add some for Jim´s family and friends.
Photos
1 1958: our geology teacher, Frank Kenworthy, is wearing a green jacket. Jim is the third student to the right of Frank.
2 1959: outside Jim´s uncle´s garage with a Morris 8 car he lent us for our `Trans Isle of Wight´ geological expedition. From left to right: me, Jim, Ron Cooke and Roy Clements.
3 2016: How times change! With Jim´s hire car outside Ron´s house in York. From left to right: me, Jim and Ron.

I was very sorry to hear of the death of Jim Cole, and send sincere condolences to family and friends. It is only recently that I (along with two other school friends) had re-established contact with Jim via "zoom". We exchanged reminiscences of the great time we had learning about geology under the tutelage of a great teacher, at Ashford Grammar School, Kent, UK. Jim and I went on to consolidate and enrich our geological knowledge at the then youthful Department of Geology at the University of Leicester. Jim was good at reminiscences, and we had only just got started! He will be missed!

Was sorry to hear of the passing of Jim "Professor Cole"
A favourite memory of him in undergrad was how excited he was to tell us, with a little cackle, if you got to face a pyroclastic flow, then it would be the last thing you ever did"
But it never sounded like this was a bad thing. A very passionate teacher!

May God bless you & your family at this sorrowful time.

It's always a privilege to know a great person and mentor like Jim. I met him a few times as he was a good friend of another great person and mentor, Renato Funiciello. And then I kept meeting him not truly in person but through the friendship with some of his disciples who equally are great people sharing his fantastic very human attitude to life and the passion for learning and teaching. My sincere condolescence to the family. I would like to dedicate to Jim an inspiring poem by buddhist philosopher Daisaku Ikeda:
"Gaze up together at Mt Fuji
mentor and disciple as one.
With an adamant heart
live for the future."

Condolences to his family. I know James from my PhD time. He always had a nice smile and was very kind.

Jim was one of my MSc supervisors. at UC. He was very supportive even after I graduated. Condolences to the family. I am glad that I got to visit him in 2023 with Chris and Glen.

Jim was one of my PhD supervisors at Vic in the 1970s. I remember a kind and compassionate person with a great geological knowledge who was always willing to help others, and never too busy to chat.

Jim proved that it is possible to be male, gracious, productive, a good scientist, and a loving husband and father at the same time. We are all better for his example. The entire Gill family benefited from the entire Cole family spending a year in Santa Cruz, and remaining friends since. Jim co-hosted guests on Tarawera before our daughter´s wedding 50 years after his first trip there. He explained the plate tectonic context and eruption history after the other co-host, our Maori son-in-law´s relative, explained its iwi significance. "Cole Volcano" in the Kermadecs can now enter the NZ Gazeteer officially.

Sending my condolences to Michael, Duncan and family. Happy memories of Jim´s visits to the UK (John Lawson´s daughter)

Duncan, Michael and whanau,
So sorry to hear that Jim has left all of us. He taught me in petrology and economic geology at VUW (many years ago, and was my supervisor at the start of my doctoral study. Always calm, understanding and supportive - and a great scientist. Valle, Jim.

My condolences to Duncan and Michael, and the rest of the family. What a life Jim made. He was simply brilliant. He will be greatly missed, especially his kindness, humour and sunny disposition which was always welcome - I´ll remember that most. Thank you

Jim Cole was a scholar and a gentleman. I first met Jim in 1963 when he arrived at the Geology Department at Victoria University of Wellington for post-graduate study and I was a callow student just getting started in first year geology. The schoolgirl Janet Brosnahan, who later became my wife, had met Jim even earlier that year when her family was returning from Britain to NZ by ship (the Northern Star) after teaching in Nigeria. Dr Frank Brosnahan (Janet´s father) was joining the English Department staff at VUW. Also on the ship was Jim Cole as a young graduate from Leeds travelling to start his Geology PhD studies at VUW. Once this common destination had been discovered, the Brosnahan family and Jim all got on superbly and they had a very enjoyable voyage! And Jim was leading my geology class field trip in 1966 when the trip arrived at the VUW Taurewa field station at Tongariro, where Janet was on a first year botany field trip. In recent years I learnt that Jim was telling some of his volcanology students that he had introduced me to Janet there, but that was not strictly true (I had to introduce myself!).
In the nearly 60 years since 1966, Jim Cole has been an invaluable mentor, advisor, thesis supervisor, coauthor, and colleague to me, and to multitudes of other students and scientists throughout their education and careers. But most of all to us he was a trusted friend to Janet and myself. Our heartfelt condolences go out to his sons Duncan and Michael and their families. Your father (and grandfather) was a very good man and a great teacher.

Ian Nairn

Jim was an outstanding person.
He was a colleague and a Friend who made life easier and more joyful to those around him.
I have been hoping, for many years, to have a last opportunity to see him again, but this did not happen. This adds even more sadness to sadness.
My thoughts now go to Duncan and Michael: you have had great parents!
Valerio Acocella

A very welcoming person, I started as a fan of his BoP volcanics work before getting the honor to have him as a Masters supervisor. Always down for a 0% alc beer and snacks while chatting about anything we could think of. You will be missed greatly Jim

My condolences to Duncan and Michael and the rest of the Cole family. Jim was an amazing person, mentoring and supporting a whole generation of professors at UC as we cut our teeth in academia. He was a legend of NZ volcanology, but also such a thoughtful, gentle and fun-loving person. I am grateful that I had a chance to know him and will miss him.

Drinking a scotch whiskey with 5 of Jim's PhD students sharing stories and celebrating Jim who was the best of us

My sincere condolences to Duncan and Michael and all the family. I first met Jim in 1991 as I began my undergraduate studies in Geology at Canterbury, and his boundless enthusiasm in teaching and mentoring students, including me, was impressive. He convinced me to go for an honours degree, with a project mapping Mt Somers Volcanics in the Rakaia gorge, a field area which really stretched my skills and my understanding of rhyolite and ignimbrite eruptive processes, and set me up well for later doctorate field mapping in Patagonia. In later years while I was studying for my doctorate, he, along with the late D. W. Lewis, were both excellent mentor scientists to bounce ideas off while I was struggling with completing a dissertation. I remember when I did my verbal presentation of my honours project, I added to the presentation some ideas about the direction of the eruptive source area for the Rakaia Ignimbrites that I felt were too hand-wavy for addition to the thesis, and after the talk, Jim said 'Zane, if you'd put that in the project, I would have given you an A+', which taught me to be a little bit more certain about presenting my work!

He will be very dearly missed.

My condolences to Duncan and Michael and the Cole. Jim was my Master´s supervisor during the 90s at the University of Canterbury, and he did so in a gracious, encouraging way, while being Head of Department and teaching. We did some amazing field work around Rotorua and Jim was so generous with his time and knowledge. I always remember him fondly.

Prof. Jim was such a friendly, supportive, and inspiring presence in the geology department at UC. I have the honour of being the first recipient of the Jim Cole Prize which was established in 2013 in recognition of Jim´s immense contributions to geology, the department, and his support of postgraduate students. Jim will be missed, but he leaves behind an amazing legacy and a love for life and geology that has been passed on to so many.

An inspiration. A person that identified and nurtured. Always an open door whether office or home. A mentor, a researcher, a ground breaker, an encourager, leader, supporter, and friend. A single malt connoisseur. The welcoming home of Christine and his provided stabilisation and support for many. Your knowledge and skills live on in those you´ve taught. Jim, you will be sorely missed.

I remember what an inspired person my Uncle Jimmy was. May he rest in peace. Condolences to all his family from Keith and Sandra and family

Our sincere condolences to Duncan, Michael and their families at this difficult time.
Jim was (my wife´s) Susan´s Dad´s cousin and we have lived in Australia since 1983. In that time we have had much communication with Jim and Christine, and in recent years enjoyed our visits to see them both. I am a retired petroleum geologist and as you can imagine, loved having in depth conversations with Jim. He was a wonderful man, a real gentleman, and very well respected. We´ve known him a long time, but we only found out a year ago when we last saw him, that he had a volcano named after him. He was also quite reserved about his many achievements.
Our hearts go out to all the family.
We will be there on Saturday to celebrate Jim´s life.
Martin and Susan Berry.

A good friend and cousin. A wonderful trip to NZ last year will always be remembered.
Condolences to the close family.

What a wonderful teacher, scientist, friend and humanitarian Jim was! He will be missed! My sincerest condolences.

Duncan, Michael and Familes, Condolences on the passing of your dad. It was in the early 70's that we first met Jim and Christine, soon after we moved into our new house in Pembroke Road. Your parents were part of a great group of friends living in the Wilton/Northland area of Wellington who we socialised with , through the likes of Plunket, school, scouts, the baby sitting club, dinner parties, etc. Great times. We kept in touch after your folks moved to Christchurch and enjoyed catching up during our infrequent visits to the garden city. My thoughts are with you during this difficult time. Regards Murray Carpenter

I´m so sorry to hear of Jim´s passing. I was a student of his in the late 1990s and early 2000s, during what felt like a transformational time in UC geology. I have such fond memories of his kindness and thoughtfulness, and I can still picture his honest smile as he quietly chatted with students out in the field.

Although I never became a volcanologist, Jim showed me that pursuing geology was a wonderful way to explore the most beautiful and remote corners of the world. We non-volcanologists were always a bit envious of the incredible opportunities he arranged for his students-opportunities that reflected his passion and commitment to teaching.

Even now, as I continue my work in New Zealand geology, I see how Jim´s legacy lives on. Through the many students he influenced, he continues to shape our understanding of New Zealand´s geology and the world we live in. I´m sure his family must be very proud of this enduring legacy. My deepest condolences to all who loved him.

Jim and Christine were a central part of life in the Geology Dept at VUW in the early 1970s. Parties were commonplace in those days. Jim always supported his students in their academic pursuits with his time and enthusiasm. Go well Jim. RIP.

Hi Duncan and Michael, your Dad was one of the nicest people I have met in my career. He was a true scholar and a gentleman! Many people will be sorry to see him gone.
Kind regards,
Steve Self and Amy Kuwata

To Duncan and Michael so sorry to see the death of your father
Can remember the times you lived in Northland and our time was spent with your father and Vic with the Northland Scout group, always looked forward to his Christmas email with the news of family and always a personal note included
My thoughts with you
Trish Kent