DISTINGUISHED BRENHAM ALUMNUS BENNIE COLE DIES
(Castle Ridge Mortuary)
A distinguished alumnus of Brenham ISD has died.
Bennie Cole died Friday, at the age of 76. Cole was named a Brenham ISD Distinguished Alumni in 2011, and was also recognized when a San Antonio elementary school was named in his honor. He graduated in 1961 from Pickard High School in Brenham, the first high school in Texas for black students.
Cole was a former member of the San Antonio Northside school board, which voted in 2015 to name a new 800-student elementary school in his honor. The school opened in August 2015.
Cole was vital in helping create the Northside Education Foundation, which has awarded upwards of $2 million in grants to teachers. He was also a member of several bond and oversight committees for Northside ISD and Alamo College.
Funeral services are scheduled for Tuesday, May 7th at noon at Grace First Baptist Church in San Antonio. Visitation will be from 6 to 8 p.m. Monday, May 6th in San Antonio, at Castle Ridge Mortuary.