Murray Louis Cole was born on May 2, 1927 in Daleville, Mississippi. He departed this life at the age of 89 on August 14, 2016. He was the son of the late Cleveland and Lennie Cole. He received his public education in Meridan Mississippi at Daleville Public School and was a graduate of Harris High School.

In 1942, President Roosevelt established a Presidential directive giving African Americans an opportunity to be recruited into the Marine Corps. These African Americans were not sent to the traditional boot camps but were sent to train at Montford Point – a facility at Camp Lejeune, NC. In 1946, Murray joined the Marine Corps and became one of the first black Marines from Camp Lejeune and was later sent to Guam. Once discharged from the Marines in 1948, he attended and completed electronics school.

Murray moved to Memphis, TN and went to school for watchmaking. He re-enlisted with the Marines and was honorably discharged in 1956. Murray Cole received the National Defense Service Medal, Good Conduct Medal, and in 2012 a Certificate of Appreciation along with the nation’s highest civilian honors, the Congressional Gold Medal for being one of the first black Marines from Montford Point to serve the United States of America.

Murray was united in marriage to Mary Jo Cole on August 6, 1957. To this union two daughters were born, Vi and Dwana.

He became a member of Gospel Temple Church in 1959 where he became an ordained Deacon. Deacon Cole, as he was known, was the Sunday School Superintendent at Gospel Temple Church for over 25 years. He was a wealth of knowledge on Black History and loved to study God’s Word. In 1985, the Lord blessed Deacon Cole with a vision for the Camden District Sunday School Department. The vision was to develop a scholarship program to assist the youth in their educational endeavors. As the years went on the Sunday School Department decided to change the name to “The Deacon Murray Cole Scholarship” knowing the torch would remain lit and he would continue helping youth in their educational endeavors.