Rex A. Cole, Sr. PGA

November 6, 1943 - August 25, 2021

SANTEE, CA —

A little hand with a beautiful face came down from heaven and I looked up and it was our son, Renato who had passed away. He said, “Daddy take my hand, you are going home with our Lord”. I told him “I cannot go now, I have my sweet wife Karen to take care of, our loving children, our grandchildren and our great-grandson. They need me now.” Renato said, “take my hand, your work here on earth is done.” I reached up and took his hand and...

Rex Anthony Cole Sr. went to the Lord on August 25, 2021 at 9:30 am.

Rex is survived by his loving wife, Karen, of 54 years, and his children that he was so proud of: Christina (Nino), Tammy (Mike), Alissa (Jeff ), Sonny, Cassandra (Jeff ), Rino, Renato (deceased), Petra (Chris). He is also survived by his sister Joann and brother Mitchell, along with 14 grandchildren, one great-grandson and numerous nieces and nephews.

Rex was born in Cleveland, Ohio on November 6, 1943, the son of Rex and Sue Cole. He entered the Army in 1964 and married Karen in 1966. He was honorably discharged in 1970.

Rex’s life was the game of golf. It all started when his mother took him to Oakwood Country Club to get him a job as a caddy.

He was too small and sat on a range basket to tee up range balls for Head Golf Professional David Ogilvie II.

His first official golf job was clean picking the driving range (by hand), along with refinishing and cleaning old persimmon woods and irons. It was in short time that Rex decided to turn professional and became a PGA Member.

He was an Assistant Golf Professional in Ohio at Hawthorne Valley Country Club and Kirkland Country Club and also Dennis Pines Golf Course in Massachusetts. Rex participated in Section and Chapter PGA events while also attending many seminars. In the winters, he taught golf indoors at Garfield Heights High School.

Shortly after Rex became the Head Golf Professional at Painesville Country Club, he decided to move to Southern California. He started in Palm Springs at Indian Wells Country Club and later took the position as Head Golf Professional

at San Carlos Golf Course (now Mission Trails) in San Diego.

Rex owned Polar Golf in Downtown San Diego and was an instructor in the evenings at Alvarado Driving Range. He also took over Bonita Driving Range for a while until the flood wiped it out.

In 1979, Rex became the Head Golf Professional at Carlton Oaks Country Club, and for 27 years he hosted many PGA Chapter and Section Events, US Open Qualifiers, Juniors, Seniors and Ladies events. He had fun with putting contests, 100 yard contests, BBQ scrambles, Mens Club Events, and Ladies Club Events as well. He taught group lessons for Seniors, Ladies, Juniors, YMCA Camps and hosted many fundraising tournament events.

Rex then left Carlton Oaks and became the General Manager and Head Golf Professional of Cottonwood Golf Course. He was at Cottonwood for 11 years organizing and running the same type of events now for a 36 hole golf facility. Rex was also the golf instructor for Grossmont College for over a decade and later became the golf instructor for Cuyamaca College for several years.

After Cottonwood, Rex went back to Carlton Oaks to teach golf. He taught until he could not physically teach any longer. Rex loved people and especially teaching the kids. He ran free junior clinics every weekend and free youth golf tournaments during his tenure as a professional. He was very involved in junior golf and growing the game.

Rex served two years on the Board of Directors for the San Diego PGA Chapter. He also attended many PGA seminars and participated in Chapter and Section events of the Southern California PGA. He was very proud to be a Half Century PGA Member (54 years). Within the PGA, he won the SCPGA’S Youth Player Development Award in 1986 and Heritage Family Award in 2016. His mottos in life were, “Make a friend a day” and “Be nice to everyone”.

Rex served on the Board of Directors with the Santee/lakeside Rotary, The Salvation Army and was a member of the Knights of Columbus. He also contributed to many other charities throughout his lifetime by either helping host their event or donating to the charity.

With all of Rex’s accomplishments, the greatest treasures in his life were his wife Karen, his beautiful children and family, and his loving friends.

Celebration of Life is scheduled for Friday, October 29, 2021 at Carlton Oaks Golf Course in Santee at 3 pm.

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