Jeff Cole and His Legacy

By Jonathan Weber, 3-17-06

Jeff Cole, one of the best journalists I ever knew and also one of my best friends, was in many ways the founding spirit of New West. Jeff was the aerospace editor of the Wall Street Journal, and he pursued the news with a level of passion, skill and energy that's rare in any profession. He was also among the most charming, friendly and down-to-earth people people you'd ever want to meet, as comfortable in a corporate boardroom as in a small-town Montana bar. One horrible day five years ago Jeff was killed in a plane crash in Colorado while on assignment, and his friends and colleagues and, especially, his lovely wife Maria have missed him terribly ever since.

Jeff grew up in Darby, and I spent some serious quality time exploring the Montana outback and the Missoula bars with Jeff; it was because of those trips that I ultimately came to settle here, first as a visiting professor at the Journalism School and later as the founder of New West. Maria has finished their log home near Stevensville and settled in - they had only just bought the land when he was killed. A scholarship fund set up by Maria has helped some very talented Montana journalists pursue their dreams. Jeff was incredibly devoted to his profession, and supporting talented young reporters is something he did throughout his career.

Now Maria is aiming to take the Jeff Cole Legacy Fund to the next level and endow a chair at the Journalism School. To that end, she's throwing a "fun-raiser" on Saturday, March 25 at 6:00 P.M. at the Florence building in Missoula. There will be food and drink and music and a few special guests, including Gov. Schweitzer and University President George Dennison. We'll be there and we hope you will too, call Maria at 406-546-3801 for more information. [End of article]