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Jacob Robert Coles

Jacob Robert Coles was born on February 11, 1988, and died at the Olathe Hospice House with his parents at his bedside on January 5, 2025, after a nearly three-year fight with cancer.

The majority of his adult life he worked cooking barbecue, mostly at Jack Stack and Joe’s KC Bar-B-Que. He loved going to Chiefs games. Quick to smile, he made friends easily. He valued loyalty. He would defend you. He would cut people some slack and forgive them. He had a host of close friends, coworkers, and health caretakers who supported him and visited him at his parents’ house where he convalesced before deteriorating in the weeks before he died. He was quite lucid until January, holding court as folks sat around him. Even when he was very sick, he joked with people and laughter surrounded him. Deeply spiritual, although not religious, Jacob loved reggae, ska, his dreadlocks, and the Rastafarian lifestyle.

He was born during a blizzard and he died during a blizzard, giving his friends and family some time to mourn without life going on as normal. Many of us viewed that as a final blessing. He is survived by his wife, Lesley Nelson, parents, Tad and Cindy Coles, sister, Cassidy Coles and her children Felix and Poppy McGuire, grandfather, Bob Cooley, and a host of friends who treated him like he was family.

Please join us in celebrating Jacob’s life on February 1, 2025, from 12 – 3 pm, at Joe’s Kansas City Bar-B-Que, The 180 Room, 11944 S Strang Line Rd, Olathe, KS 66062.

In lieu of flowers, the family requests financial donations to the Mark Foundation for Cancer Research and financial or volunteer donations to Hospice House of Olathe.

Condolences

  1. Stella Harper on January 21, 2025 at 7:40 pm

    Condolences to Jacob’s family, and friends, that loved him. May you find peace, comfort, and joy in your memories of Jacob. I’m so sad that he couldn’t stay longer. I pray that he is resting in peace now, no longer suffering from pain or sorrow.🙏❤️



  2. Ashlee Seiler on January 21, 2025 at 8:50 pm

    Continuing to send all my love to the whole family. Jacob was one of my dearest friends, and one of the most beautiful souls I have ever known. He’s incredibly missed.



  3. Laurie Atchity Dressman on January 21, 2025 at 9:49 pm

    Tad, you and Cindy are such examples of loving a child and being there unconditionally through the hardest time of their life – their dying. What strength and what good shepherds you were to him and those that came around him through it all. Let others help you now as you go through the grieving process. When people offer something to do for you, think of something. Give them a chance to help you both after years of being depleted by his impending passing. Much love.



  4. Amy Spears on January 22, 2025 at 7:34 am

    I met Jacob at Jackstack and from the minute I met him I knew he was such a good soul and that smile was so contagious. He did love hard and he definitely was a protector. Mike and I would meet up with him and Leslie to play disc golf which is one of many memories I will always remember. This is so heartbreaking and I am so sorry for your loss! Thinking of you all during this difficult time.



  5. Wendy O’Donnell on January 22, 2025 at 11:07 am

    Sending sympathy and understanding from Canada. We only met you and Cindy once on holiday Tad if you recall. But my heart goes out to you both on this heart wrenching loss. Your boy looked as though he were a free spirit. May he shine on in the heavens!



  6. Deb Edwards on January 23, 2025 at 4:42 am

    Jacobs smile is testament to his lovely spirit! May your hearts know peace beyond understanding.



  7. Linda Tidd on January 23, 2025 at 5:18 pm

    Dear Cindy and Family, so happy to see your son’s pretty eyes and happy smile. I recognized his face as the happy boy who came to my house so many years ago to borrow some VHS and DVD tapes of his favorite movies. He was so happy that he could pick as many as he wanted to enjoy that summer. It is happy memory for me, and I hope you remember it also. Peace.



  8. Adam Sparks on January 23, 2025 at 8:16 pm

    To the Coles family – I went to middle school and high school with Jacob and though I haven’t seen him in years, my only memories of him are surrounded in smiles, laughter, and joy. Jacob truly was a light and I’m so grateful to have crossed paths with him. Sending love to you all.



  9. Joni & Joe Sondy on January 25, 2025 at 7:22 am

    Our thoughts and prayers go out to the Cole’s family. May Jacob’s smile shine down on you. So sorry for your loss. Our deepest condolences.



  10. Darrell and Katy Cossairt on February 1, 2025 at 4:22 pm

    I am so sorry for your loss. My deepest sympathies. Thank you for sharing some of this journey with us. My experience has been that there will come a time when Jacob’s memory brings joy instead of pain. I hope that comes true for you.



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