Brigitte Fowden Cole

She was born January 12, 1952 in Tückelhausen, Germany to Gerhard Wilhelm Heinrich Zechow and Dora Hildegard Graupner. She was the youngest of four children and is survived by siblings; Barbara Moore of West Creek, NJ, Christina Sipe of Jacksonville, FL and Peter Zechow of Würzburg, Germany.

In 1962, her father Gerhard Zechow died. In 1963, her mother married U.S. Army CW4, James G. Fowden who adopted her. Brigitte was married to Bob Cole for 48 years and they had two daughters; Elizabeth Cole-Walker of Cary, NC and Suzanne Marie Levan of Gainesville, GA. One of the joys of her life were her four grandchildren, Katharine, Liam, Luke and Charlie.

Brigitte graduated from Jacksonville State University with a Bachelors of Science in Education. She later received a Masters of Science in Education and a Masters of Art in History. Brigitte taught History for a number of years at Jacksonville State University. In 1999, Brigitte moved to Columbia when her husband was assigned to Ft. Jackson. She taught full time at Benedict College and part time at Midland Technical College and Limestone College. Brigitte's biggest passion in life was teaching history. Known by her close friends as Kitty, she was always ready with a radiant smile and a kind word for all.