He was born March 1, 1923, at home in Lorena, Texas, to William Hugh and Nellie Lee Hill Cole. During his childhood, his family moved every two to three years to small towns throughout central Texas because his father was a Methodist minister. He graduated from Stephenville High School in Stephenville, Texas, in 1940.

After high school, he went to two different colleges for 3 years before being drafted into the Army-Air Force Corps in 1944. He served in Guam in the Pacific in communications from 1944 to 1946. He then reenlisted and served in Germany as part of the occupation forces from 1946 to 1948. After finishing his service in Germany, he returned to Texas and enrolled at Baylor University in Waco, Texas, under the GI bill. He received a Bachelor of Science degree in Chemistry in 1950.

While in Germany, Hugh met and courted a German lady, Christa Heidenreich. They married on March 18, 1952, in Port Arthur, Texas. Hugh adopted her son and then they had two daughters. Christa died in 1972 from cancer. Hugh remarried Norma Van Wick in 1982, but they divorced in less than two years. Hugh then married Ruth Bitton Doe in 1988, a native Idahoan from Swan Valley. They remained married until Ruth's death in 2001.

Hugh worked as a chemist first for Texaco, and then for the Atomic Energy Commission (later called the Department of Energy). He lived and worked in Port Arthur and Amarillo, Texas; Joliet, Illinois; Piqua and Troy, Ohio; and Idaho Falls, Idaho. Except for a two-year period from 1963-1965, Hugh worked at the site west of Idaho Falls from 1961 to 1986, taking early retirement in 1986. Hugh wrote numerous scientific papers, which he presented at national scientific meetings. He was a member of the American Chemical Society for over 50 years.

Hugh loved the outdoors and enjoyed hiking, camping, hunting, fishing, and skiing. He also enjoyed woodworking, gardening, and travel around the US and to Europe. Hugh was a member of Trinity United Methodist Church for many years where he sang in the choir. He also at one time sang in a barbershop chorus. He was also a member of the Elks Club, where he loved to go dancing and dining.

Hugh was known as a mellow, soft-spoken man with a sense of humor. At Hugh's retirement party, his boss commended Hugh for always putting in a good day's work.

Hugh is survived by his son, Kenneth Cole, Chicago, IL; two daughters: Susan Cole, Anchorage, AK, and Barbara Cole Dubois, Chicago, IL; two brothers: Richard Davis Cole, Manhattan Beach, CA, and William Edward Cole, Houston, TX; and one sister, Agnes Cole Britt, Waco, TX.

He was preceded in death by his first wife, Christa, his third wife, Ruth, and his parents.

A memorial service will be held at 7:00 p.m. Monday, October 15, 2007 at Trinity United Methodist Church, 237 N. Water Ave. in Idaho Falls. Condolences may be sent to the family through Coltrin Mortuary, and a video tribute to Hugh may be seen at www.coltrinmortuary.com.