This page is dedicated to Sumner's beloved senior Cole Merchant who sadly passed in December of 2023. Cole was a kind soul with a very contagious smile, he was incredibly funny, thoughtful and a friend to all. He will surely be missed by the entire Sumner community.
Cole was an amazing human being, always willing to lend a helping hand to anyone who needed it. He was incredibly smart and would often research or practice something until he was satisfied, even teaching himself how to play drums at an early age. And always willing to help and teach others what he knew. He loved to work with his hands and build things, whether that was collecting random items around the house to make a push go-cart or building an engine on his bicycle in more recent years. He loved to cook and came up with some creative meals on his own and was always cooking meals for his Nanny (maternal Grandmother) when he was with her. He also loved to bake for her, the rest of the family and teachers and friends…often bringing cookies to school to share.
He loved playing and watching basketball, the Lakers being his favorite team, and collecting basketball cards. He could be found playing Xbox with friends or his brother in his free time, or playing virtual reality games like golf, fishing, or tennis. He also enjoyed learning how to play golf, especially with his best friend Evan. He had a great love of cars and enjoyed watching Drag Racing and Formula 1. In the last couple years, he had found a passion for fixing cars when he was accepted into the Automotive Technology program at HCTC in Ellsworth. He excelled in the program, winning an award and competing in SkillsUSA. He planned to pursue the field in college and open his own shop.
Cole may have seemed shy when you met him, but he had a big personality and loved to tell jokes, good sarcasm and making people laugh. He could often be found with a funny shirt or funny socks on. He battled severe Scoliosis in his early teens and was very happy to regain his life after a successful surgery when he was 16, with Dr. Bassett in Bangor. He often said his surgery was “EPIC”!
Cole attended school in Sullivan his whole life and would have graduated with honors from Sumner Memorial High School this Spring. He also was a member of Upward Bound at UMO where he made amazing friends, learned so many new things and had awesome adventures.
After the news, some fellow seniors created a memorial poster for students, teachers, community members, and faculty to express their grief and share fond memories they had. The memorial poster featured 4 hearts on the top with the words "We Love You Cole" written on it and his senior photo in the middle with mini hearts around it. The poster had dozens of heart shaped papers with messages from several people who dearly miss him.
The Sumner High School National Honor Society is having a food drive in honor of Cole Merchant. This food drive is to honor all of Cole's previous food drive endeavours, They hope to keep this a yearly tradition in his honor!
The HCTC program in Ellsworth that Cole attended planted a tree in front of the building to honor the memory of Cole, Many members of the Automotive Technology posed for a photo in front of the tree wearing shirts that read "Cole's Crew". The tree was planted alongside another fellow HCTC member who also sadly passed away this year.