GERALD A. COLE; SCARBOROUGH - Gerald A. Cole, 92, recently of Piper Shores, Scarborough, passed away peacefully Feb. 1, 2006, at Maine Medical Center, Portland. Gerald was born Aug. 3, 1913, in Enfield, the oldest child of James Albert "A.J." Cole and Amy Stone Cole. He graduated from Bangor High School in 1932 and married Edwyna Cohlan in 1934. The pair recently celebrated their 71st wedding anniversary. Gerald started driving his father's trucks in his teens. The family business, Coles Express, was his life's work, much of it as the company's senior vice-president. In 1941, he moved from Bangor to Portland, where he resided for the next 62 years. Gerald served both as vice-president and as a director of the American Trucking Association's Maine Chapter for many years. He served twice as president of the Maine Truck Owners Association (predecessor to the Maine Motor Transport Association). Gerald was very much a part of the development of the trucking industry in Maine. He was present when the road from Bangor to Houlton first was plowed in the 1930's. In 1959, when Alaska became a state, he and former Senator Ed Muskie brought truckloads of items from Maine to Alaska to welcome its residents to the union. On one occasion, Gerald and Edwyna hurriedly left a formal evening function during a storm to repair a broken-down truck, so that its cargo could be delivered on time. Edwyna in her gown holding the flashlight while Gerald in his tuxedo was turning a wrench must have been quite a sight! Gerald served on the Portland City Council for seven years and was elected to the Maine State House of Representatives in 1946. During and after the World War II, he served as Maine's disaster chairman, and was instrumental in obtaining Federal assistance to fight Maine's historic forest fires of 1947. Gerald's philanthropy has been extensive. He was a member of Rising Virtue Lodge No. 10, AF&AM in Bangor, of St. John's Commandery No. 3, K.T., in Bangor, of the Lodge Council Chapter Consistory of the Scottish Rite, Valley of Portland, of Anah Temple, A.A.O.N.M.S. in Bangor and of Put Stevens Court No. 107, R.O.J., in Portland. He also was a member of the Kora Shrine Club of Greater Portland, a member of the Kora Motor Corps and an associate member of Kora Temple in Lewiston. Gerald was a member of Unity Lodge No. 3 of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, in Portland. Gerald was a member of Woodfords Congregational Church in Portland. He also was a long-standing member of the Kiwanis Club of Portland, where he received the Distinguished Service Award in 2002. Gerald was honored by the Maine Health Care Association at a ceremony at the State House in 2005. Gerald is survived by his wife, Edwyna; by two children, Sandra Cole Parsons of Arizona and Kevin T. Cole of Portland; 10 grandchildren and several; great-grandchildren; by two sisters, Winona Sawyer and Dorothy Warren, both of Bangor; and by two brothers, Galen Cole and Vaughn Cole, both of Maine and Florida. A memorial service will be conducted 11 a.m. preceded by an Odd Fellows memorial service at 10:30 a.m. Saturday, Feb. 4, at the Woodfords Congregational Church. The service will be followed by a brief reception. In lieu of flowers, please make donations to the Shriners Hospitals. Arrangements are by Jones Rich & Hutchins Funeral Home.