Obituary of Floyd Cranska Cole
Floyd Cranska Cole, of Thompson, CT, passed away on March 17, 2018. He was 96. He leaves his wife of 65 years, Jean, four children and seven grandchildren. Floyd was born on the 4th of July, 1921. He studied at Marianapolis Preparatory School before enlisting in the US Army Air Corps during WWII. It was his dream since childhood to become a pilot. Assigned to the 8th Air Force he served in the 452nd Bomb Group, 729th Squadron stationed at Deopham Green in Norfolk, England, as Pilot and Group Leader with a crew of ten. As Pilot he fought in thirty combat missions over Germany in 1944 - 45, each time bringing his plane “Final Approach” and his crew home safely. Floyd received the Air Medal for meritorious service while participating in aerial flight. After his tour of duty in England he returned to the US and trained on the B-29 bomber in Florida. Upon discharge from the Army Air Corps he attended Trinity College in Hartford and earned a Phi Beta Kapa Key. He transferred to Rensselaer University in New York state earning a degree in chemical engineering. He joined Monsanto in Indian Orchard, Massachusetts as a plastics engineer, becoming one of the industry’s early pioneers. He left Monsanto to become head of the Color Department at Foster Grant Plastics in Leominster, Massachusetts.
Floyd and Jean had five children, David, Blair, Craig, Judith and predeceased by Ross. They raised their family in Leominster until Floyd retired, and with Jean, moved to the family homestead in Thompson where Floyd had grown up. Floyd was an avid gardener and shared his time between Thompson, Connecticut and Nokomis, Florida. For many years he attended 452nd Bomb Group Reunions with his former military crew mates even flying with two of them from Ft. Meyers to Venice, Florida on the Collings Foundation B-17 “Nine-O-Nine” which received quite a bit of news coverage in Southwest Florida. Floyd enjoyed attending “ WWII Warbirds” shows and standing beneath the fuselage of a B-17 was often the center of attention. Floyd’s final approach was spent in the comfort of his home in the company of his family.
A memorial service will be held Saturday, March 24 at 4 pm in the Chapel at Marianapolis Preparatory School, 26 Chase Road, Thompson, CT.
In lieu of flowers, the family’s wish is for donations to be made to the Thompson Congregational Church Rebuilding Fund. The church is recovering from a devastating fire. Please visit http://www.thompsoncongregational.org/donate. www.smithandwalkerfh.com