Francine "Kay" (Skinner) Cole

“On a hill far away, stood an old, rugged Cross, the emblem of suffering and shame.  And I love that old Cross where the dearest and best, for a world of lost sinners was slain.  So, I'll cherish the old, rugged Cross, till my trophies, at last, I lay down.  I will cling to the old, rugged Cross, and exchange it some day for a crown.”

Francine Kay Skinner Cole entered eternal rest on Wednesday, January 29, 2026, at Sentara Albemarle Medical Center in Elizabeth City, North Carolina.  She was the daughter of the late Robert S. Skinner and the late Minnie Ray Fair Barnard and the wife of Julius Cole Sr. of the home.

Celebration of Life Service will be Friday, February 6, 2026, at 2:00 p.m. at St. Stephen Missionary Baptist Church in Elizabeth City, North Carolina with Rev. Ernest Cole, Eulogist.  Interment will follow in the Memory Gardens Cemetery in Elizabeth City, North Carolina. A viewing/visitation will be Thursday, February 5, 2026, from 5 – 7 p.m. at the funeral home.

In addition to her husband, Kay leaves to cherish her memory one daughter, Syreeta Cole, Alexandria, Virginia; one son, Julius Cole, Jr., Virginia Beach, Virginia, one bonus daughter, Stephanie Fuller, Portsmouth Virginia; one bonus granddaughter, Michelle Stephens, Portsmouth, Virginia; one brother, Robert K. Skinner (Angie), Elizabeth City, North Carolina; four sisters, Barbara Hartfield, Elizabeth City, North Carolina, D. Faye Knowles, Elizabeth City, North Carolina, A. Vanessa Griffin (Vernon), Virginia Beach, Virginia and Rosma James (Larry), Elizabeth City, North Carolina and a host of nieces, nephews, cousins and friends.

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