Phillip Coll “attended High School in Erie, PA then enlisted to join the US Army Air Corps. He retired USAF in 1968 and moved to Lafayette, then to Marksville where he worked for Cenla Bank & Trust Company until his retirement there in 1985.”
Source: Published December 30, 2013 by Melancon Funeral Home – Bunkie, LA
Phillip A. Coll, LtCol USAF, Ret., “Headed West” on December 24, 2013.
Lt. Col (Ret) Phillip Aird Coll, 93 years old of Marksville, passed away on December 24, 2013 in Baton Rouge. He was born on March 11, 1920 in Erie, Pennsylvania to Agnes A. and Phillip H. Coll. Mr. Coll attended High School in Erie, PA then enlisted to join the US Army Air Corps. He retired USAF in 1968 and moved to Lafayette, then to Marksville where he worked for Cenla Bank & Trust Company until his retirement there in 1985.
Mr. Coll is survived by his wife of 68 years, Geraldine “Pickles” Bordelon Coll, three children: Susan and husband Ocie Mitchell of Anchorage, Alaska, Phillip James Coll and Ruby Christopherson of Sterling, Alaska, and Lee Coll and wife Debra of Baton Rouge. He is also survived by five grandchildren, Ocie Scott Mitchell of Orange County, CA, Rosemary Mitchell Grant of Seattle, Washington, Neil Coll, Elizabeth Coll, and Anthony Coll, all of Baton Rouge. Additionally Mr. Coll had five great grandchildren. Phillip A Coll had a great friend in his surviving brother-in-law James “Boosie” Bordelon of Marksville.
Phillip A. Coll was a pilot in the US Air Force during WWII and served with the 80th Fighter Group, 89th Squadron “Burma Banshees” flying out of Nagaghuli, India against the Japanese in the China-Burma-India Theater. He served in the Korean War ferrying aircraft from Japan to South Korea during that conflict. One of his final combat assignments was with the 80th Tactical Fighter Squadron, where on July 27, 1965, he lead the fourth of six flights of F-105D aircraft during Operation “Spring High” from Takhli AFB in Thailand to strike SAM sites in North Vietnam. Mr. Coll retained a private pilot’s license and flew the corporate aircraft for Cenla Bank in the 1970’s.
Mr. Coll enjoyed gardening and golf, supporting the Spring Bayou Country Club in Marksville for many years. He was active at St. Joseph’s Catholic Church and with the Avoyelles Parish Library. He was interested in feeding wild birds, which he enjoyed through the final days of his life. Special Thanks to the staffs of Lake Sherwood Village and Nottingham Rehabilitation Facility in Baton Rouge.
A Mass of Christian Burial [was] offered for Lt. Col (Ret) Phillip Aird Coll on Friday, Jan. 3, 2014 at 10:00 a.m. at St. Joseph Catholic Church in Marksville with Fr. Rusty Rabalais officiating. Burial with full Military Honors [was] at St. Joseph’s Cemetery No. 2 in Marksville. Arrangements are under the direction of Melancon Funeral Home of Bunkie.
Published December 30, 2013 by Melancon Funeral Home – Bunkie, LA
