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Butch Cole

Butch Cole Obituary

April 11, 1943 — January 25, 2026
Leslie (Butch) Charles Cole passed away peacefully on January 25, 2026 at the age of 82. Butch was born and raised in Murray, Utah to Warren Charles Cole and Beth Louise Huish.

Butch loved scouting and was awarded his Eagle Scout at the age of 14. He attended Granite High School where he excelled in math and science and proudly lettered in track. He met the beautiful Linda Jacobsen at a Friday night “hop” (Cottonwood Stake dance) and after a couple of weeks of dancing and a few long walks home, he got up the courage to present Linda with his most prized possession at the time, his Eagle Scout ring. This was the beginning of a long and beautiful life together built on love, faith, and service

Butch served in the US Army from June through December of 1961 and in the British Mission for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints from July 1962 to 1964. He attended the University of Utah and earned a bachelor’s degree in mathematics, a minor in Physics, and a teaching certificate. He remained a die-hard “Utah Man” throughout his life. After graduation he worked at IBM for 25 years, American Stores for 4 years, and retired working as a loan officer for Security West.

He married the love of his life, Linda Jacobsen, in the Salt Lake Temple on September 1, 1966. They are proud parents to eight children and their spouses Lane (Melanie), Daren (Jamie), Ryan (Juliana), Jason (Amber), Kevin (Nikki), Christian (Kristal), Mindy (Greg), and Brenden (Lindsey), as well as 28 grandchildren, two great-grandchildren, and one more on the way.

After retirement, he and Linda embarked on many adventures visiting Yellowstone, Hawaii, London, Israel, and took numerous cruises throughout the world. They were called to serve at the Utah Salt Lake City Temple Square Mission, where they guided visitors through the Conference Center along with many VIP tours with their grandchildren.

During the Christmas season, Butch and Linda ‘worked’ a part‑time gig as Santa and Mrs. Claus—complete with frequent guest appearances from their North Pole elves (aka the grandchildren). For them, the Christmas magic was always about the kids, and they relished any opportunity to spread Christmas cheer. Their December calendar was booked with Mr. and Mrs. Claus’ visits throughout the valley, and they became a beloved Christmas tradition for many families for nearly 25 years.

Butch loved everything about sports and was a dedicated mentor and coach to his kids. He never missed a game or an opportunity to keep the referees “honest”. In his later years, he continued this legacy with his grandchildren as the most invested and loudest fan on the sideline. He became an expert at softball, soccer, mountain biking, basketball, swimming, football, and lacrosse and had invaluable advice not only for his grandchildren, but also for their teammates, the opposing team, coaches and referees alike. He enjoyed golfing and the over-par conversations on the course with his friends, sons, and grandsons. His weekend-morning specialty was cooking a full breakfast spread, complete with personalized pancakes for each child in the room. A tradition that started with his own children and continued with his grandchildren.

Butch was passionate about family history and created a book of remembrance for each of his children cataloging every detail of their lives. From the elementary “works of art” to graduation announcements it was all there; Butch was a bear for details.

Above all, Butch loved his wife, family, and the Gospel. He served faithfully in many callings and was known for his bear hugs, heart-felt tears, and powerful testimony of the resorted gospel of Jesus Christ. We are forever grateful for his love, work ethic, and showing us what it means to walk the covenant path. The last few years of his life were dedicated to loving and taking full time care of his true love Linda.

Butch is preceded in death by his parents, his brothers Dale and Jim, his sisters Barbara and Susan, and his granddaughter Schelby.

In lieu of flowers we invite you to honor our father by spending intentional time with those God has eternally and purposely placed in your life - your spouse, children, grandchildren, family, friends, and loved ones. Play nine holes of golf, share a meal, take a weekend road trip, or simply be present together. Create memories rooted in love, gratitude, and faith. Our dad believed deeply in the blessing of eternal families and friendships, and in cherishing the sacred time we are given together on earth.

Viewing and funeral services will be held at the River 10th Ward, 1570 West 11400 South, South Jordan, Utah

Evening Viewing - Sunday, February 1, 2026, from 6:00 PM - 8:00 PM

Daytime Viewing - Monday, February 2, 2026, from 9:30 AM - 10:45 AM

Funeral services - Monday, February 2, 2026, 11:00 AM - 12:00 PM

Graveside service - Monday, February 2, 2026, 1:00 PM at Memorial Mountain View Mortuary & Cemetery, 3115 East Bengal Blvd. (7800 South), Cottonwood Heights, Utah 84121.


I was blessed as Leslie Charles Cole but have lived my entire life as "Butch" Cole. This biography starts with my graduation for Granite High School in June of 1961.

Following my graduation I enlisted in the Army Reserve and served my six months of active duty at Ford Ord, California and Fort Sill, Oklahoma. I left just after Independence Day (7/8/1961) and returned home in time for Christmas, being released on December 14, 1961. I then went to work at Kennecott Copper Corp. until I left on my mission for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints to the British, London Mission under President Marion D. Hanks. I served on my mission from June of 1962 to June of 1964. I celebrated July 4th Independence Day as the last day of my mission. This experience definately shaped my live and my direction to this date in my life. I then spent 14 days touring Europe. The tour included Belgium, Switzerland, Italy, Spain and France. What a great experience.

In the fall of 1964 I enrolled at the University of Utah. My major was math and I also received my secondary teaching certificate, which I have yet to use. While attending the U of U, I got a part time job working for IBM in their data center. Upon graduation in the summer of 1968, I went to work full time for IBM in San Francisco. I worked for IBM from September 2, 1968 until March 31/31/1994. Over these 25 plus years and was a Systems Engineer, Industry Specialist and Marketing Representative. I was invited to seven IBM Systems Engineering Symposiums and two hundred percent clubs. I worked in the retail industry servicing such accounts as ZCMI, Aurbach's, Shuck's Automotive and Skaggs Drug, which later became American Stores. I also worked with the point of sale division installing point of sale terminals (elecrtonic cash registers) and scanning systems. I was involved in the installation of the first scanning system in the Salt Lake valley and the first card less computer in the country. I ended my career working in the Federal territory with Hill Air Force, Tooele Army Depot, Dugway Proving Grounds and of course the IRS.

I left IBM to work as a Director of the Logistics Systems for American Stores. American Stores was centeralizing their operations to Salt Lake City. This included building an new staff and moving the entire data processing department to Salt Lake. The department I directed built a staff of over 100 employes and contractors to manage the warehousing applications in Salt Lake. With the buy out of American Stores by Albertson's, I stayed around for a year to help convert the warehouse applications to the Albertson's format. From day one I never saw eye to eye the Albertson's management and their style of management and so after the conversion was near completing I left Albertson's in 2000.

My third career was with a small firm, Security West Mortgage, working for an old friend as a residential loan officer. I held the license to practice in the mortgage business until December 31, 2010. At that time I officially retired from the business world.

Along my career path many more important events happened in my life. On September 1, 1966 I made the best decision of my life. I married my sweetheart Linda Jacobsen in the Salt Lake Temple for time and all eternity. And now some 43 years later all I can say is that it keeps getting better and busier. We have had eight wonderful children. We have seven great sons and one beautiful daughter. All are now married and have blessed our lives with 23 exciting grandchildren, with 11 girls and 12 boys. The nice part is that they all live in the Salt Lake valley except for one son who lives in Pleasant View, Utah and another son who lives in Henderson, Nevada. So most of the grandchildren are right here for us to enjoy and we make trips often to see the others.

What spare time outside of work and family has been spent in Church service and coaching in youth programs. I have coached baseball, soccer, basketball and volleyball with my son's teams. I have served in every position in the Young Mens organization more that once and I have been able to spend quality time with my children. That is what life is all about - raising children to be good citizens with a will to work and serve and being there to watch it happen. The paydays of successes of your children pays a much higher dividend than any paycheck for an employer.

I enjoy the out of doors and sports in general. You can find me in my spare time playing tennis or golf or basketball. I spent a lot of my time now watching my children and grandchildren play their sports. This is a lot of fun and does give me a chance to give some tips and help them. It is also very rewarding to see them accomplish and achieve in their fields of interest.

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