Biographical Text
Professor Emeritus of Music Walton Smith Cole (June 24, 1921 -), retired college professor, was born at Rosemark, Shelby County, Tennessee to Mary Cassena (Smith) and John Robinson Cole. At the age of 12 he started the study of piano with local teachers. In high school, he studied with Herbert Summerfield in Memphis, Tennessee. He attended the Rosemark Elementary School and Bolton High School at Arlington, Tennessee. Cole graduated from high school in 1939 as valedictorian of the class. He enrolled in college at Southwestern at Memphis (now Rhodes College) where he pursued the Bachelor of Arts degree with a major in music. He was a piano student of Myron S. Myers at the Memphis College of Music (the music department of Southwest-em). Due to the war years, Cole was forced to graduate early on January 23, 1943. Service to his country began for Cole on April 21, 1943. He spent the next thirty-three months as a Link Trainer Instructor in Tucson and Marana, Arizona, as a tail gunner on a B-17, and finally as a hospital chaplain's assistant at Buckley Field, Denver, Colorado. In the fall of 1946 he matriculated at the University of Arizona in order to complete the requirements for the Bachelor of Music degree in performance, and in 1950 received the Master of Music degree in performance as a piano student of Julia Rebeil. Having had an intense interest in languages, he won Latin prizes in high school, the French prize at the University in Tucson, and the annual German prize at Southwestern. In addition, he studied the Russian language on a Danforth Summer Grant awarded him in 1961. A call from Dean J.D. Rankin brought him to Appalachian State Teachers College (now Appalachian State University) Boone. N.C. in early February of 1951. While at Appalachian he served as keyboard coordinator for 28 years, and taught piano class, piano ensemble, piano pedagogy and literature, theory, counterpoint, form and analysis, and introduction to music. He served on the Faculty Senate, the faculty welfare and morale committee, the departmental personnel committee, the athletic committee, the library self-study committee, and the artist and lecture series committee. He also served as Equal Opportunity Associate and as chairman of the first fine arts festival committee. He developed the piano pedagogy curriculum for Appalachian and served on various other ad hoc committees. Walton Cole was married to the late Mary Alva White Cole in 1953. They had two daughters: Mary Virginia ("Ginger"), born January 20,1958 and Melanie, born September 29,1960. Ginger attended the University of North Carolina dental school and served there several years as a dental assistant in pedodontics. She is married to Harold Thomas Brewer, formerly of Chapel Hill. They live in Hickory, North Carolina with their daughter, Ashley Cole Brewer, who was born July 18, 1982. Melanie attended the University of North Carolina at Greensboro and has recently completed the Master of Fine Arts degree in metal sculpture at Cornell University where she has a teaching assistant-ship. Professor Cole was a member of the North Carolina Music Teachers Association and served as district certification chairman, district contest-festival chairman, adjudicator, local convention chairman, treasurer, First vice-president and president. He was a regular attendee of the state meetings of North Carolina Music Educators Association. He is a member of Phi Mu Alpha Sinfonia Fraternity and Pi Kappa Lambda Honorary Fraternity. Professor Cole retired from Appalachian in 1986 and his retirement plans include gardening, photography, reading, sleeping and attending cultural events when the notion strikes! Source: Personal correspondence with Professor Walton Cole. - Dr. Richard D. Howe
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