Gail C. Cole

Gail Elizabeth Cannon Cole, 89, of Akron, Ohio, passed peacefully on May 28, 2026, surrounded by the love of family and friends.

Gail was born in Little Falls, NY on May 18, 1937, and was raised in nearby Dolgeville, NY. Her Father was Charles Cannon and her mother, Helen Viets Cannon. She attended local schools in Dolgeville until her family moved to Prairie Village, KS, a suburb of Kansas City, MO. She attended Junior High School and then Shawnee Mission High School in Johnson County, Kansas. She attended Oberlin College in Ohio and graduated with a degree in Sociology in 1958.

On June 11, 1960, she married Dean Cole. They began their family life in the very small town of Granby, Colorado at 8,000 ft. elevation in the mountains of Colorado. Dean had been ordained in the Episcopal Church and began his ministry in Granby. Gail was a piano player and shifted to playing a pump organ for this tiny church.

She bore three children: Caroline was born in Granby, and Anne and Charlie were born in Cortez, Colorado, where the family had moved. There she learned how to play the pedals on an electronic organ.

In 1971, the family moved to Detroit. Dean and Gail were part of team of clergy and laity who brought renewal to the Church of the Messiah and its inner city neighborhood. In this renewal, the Holy Spirit poured out gifts, and Gail’s gift was in worship leadership and writing songs of worship. In 1973, one of her songs, “The Lord Is Present in His Sanctuary,” became famous as it was sung around the world, translated into different languages, and recorded numerous times. All these years later, some of those recordings are still available on YouTube. At Messiah another significant part of her ministry was bringing healing to women who had been sexually abused. It was a pioneering spiritual ministry. The renewal team grew to become a Christian Community, where they lived together and shared fully, much as the beginning Christians had done in biblical times. When asked about their seven years in Detroit, Gail said that it was like the opening line in “The Tale of Two Cities,” “It was the best of times and it was the worst of times!”

In the early 1980s, Gail fulfilled a lifelong desire of her heart. She went to nursing school, much as her mother had done and received her RN after completing nurses training at St. Vincent’s Hospital in Toledo. She spent several years working there as an RN in a step-down coronary unit.

In 1987, Dean and Gail moved to Akron, OH. She worked as a Hospice Nurse and then later as a Visiting Nurse. She retired in 2007. Dean had been called to serve at St. Luke’s Church and even while she was working full time, Gail continued her music ministry, leading worship and playing guitar.

Sadly, during this time, Dementia began it’s terrible process. She was diagnosed in 2012, had surgery to slow the process in 2015, and was cared for in her home by a team of millennials. When it became too challenging for them in 2019, she was moved to Greenfield Estates for care and then to Pleasant View, in Barberton. She died there on May 28, 2026.

Gail is survived by her husband, Dean Cole, her three children, Caroline Block, Anne Hanna and Charlie Cole, her seven grandchildren, Amy Hathorn, Katie Block, Alexander Servin, Leah Servin, Courtney Teschko, Christine Mansfield and Julia Cole, and her two great grandchildren, Charlotte Teschko and Hugo Hathorn.

A Memorial Service will be held 11 A.M. MONDAY June 29th, 2026 at St. Luke's Church, 3810 Ridgewood Rd, Copley, OH 44321. A Graveside Service will be held 12:45 P.M. TUESDAY June 30th, 2026 at Ohio Western Reserve National Cemetery, 10175 Rawiga Rd, Seville, OH 44273. The service will be officiated by Rev. Dr. Daniel C. Morgan, the Rector of St. Luke's Church.

Services in care of The Billow Funeral Homes & Crematory, 85 N. Miller Rd. Akron, OH 44333 (Billow FAIRLAWN Chapel).