By Rebecca Goodman
The Cincinnati Enquirer

HYDE PARK - Richard T. Cole was a judge in Clark County for 34 years before moving to Cincinnati, where he served as a visiting judge for Hamilton County Common Pleas Court for 10 years.

Mr. Cole, 84, died Saturday at his residence at the Deupree Community in Hyde Park.

A native of Springfield, Mr. Cole graduated from Ohio State University and OSU College of Law. He also served as a captain with the 8th Army Air Force during World War II.

Mr. Cole joined his family's law firm in Springfield and was in private practice until 1950, when he became city solicitor.

He was appointed to Municipal Court in Springfield in 1956 and served as a probate and juvenile judge in Clark County for four years before being elected to the Common Pleas Court in 1976. He retired in 1990.

Mr. Cole was a visiting judge for Hamilton County until 2000.

He was preceded in death by a daughter, Sarah C. Cole, in 1972.

Survivors include his wife, Mary Miller Cole; three sons, Richard M. Cole of Gold Hill, Colo., James W. and David T. Cole, both of Longmont, Colo.; a daughter, Nancy Nangle, also of Longmont; and four granddaughters.

A memorial service is 11 a.m. todayat Christ Church Cathedral, 318 E. Fourth St., downtown. The family will receive friends in the undercroft after the service. A private burial will be at Ferncliff Cemetery in Springfield.

Memorials: National Multiple Sclerosis Society, 700 Broadway, Suite 810, Denver, Colo. 80203-3442 or Episcopal Retirement Homes Inc., 3870 Virginia Ave., Cincinnati, OH 45227.

E-mail rgoodman@enquirer.com