The Co-Founder of the Department of Communication, now Faculty of Communication Media and Information Studies of Fourah Bay College was laid to rest following her death on the Tuesday, May 23, 2023.

Her departure leaves behind an extraordinary legacy of accomplishments and contributions to journalism and education in Sierra Leone.

Dignitaries and notable figures from government institutions, the University of Sierra Leone, the Independent Media Commission, as well as family and friends, gathered to pay their respects and commemorate the life of this remarkable woman.

Numerous individuals in attendance praised her strength and courage, which served as an inspiration to many in the media industry.

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Festus Kallay, Chief Administrator of the Freetown City Council, said, “Late Bernadette Yetunde Cole was an exceptional woman filled with enthusiasm and love to imprint her knowledge and values to everyone.” He said the late woman is a mother and a disciplinarian with lots of achievable landmarks.

The daughter of the late Dr. Cole, Avril Tundette Cole, narrated the passion her mother had in education and journalism. She said, “My late mother was a loving and caring soul who I will never forget as I struggle with the reality that I have lost her to the cold hands of death. Through my mother’s passion for education, I travelled to several conferences across the world where I left her footprint.” In the end, Avril expressed how her mother pioneers the Mass Communications Department at Fourah Bay College.

Deputy Dean of Faculty of Communication Media and Information Studies, Dr. Willette James, at FBC said she has not just lost her teacher but a mother and a friend who inspired her in her academics and also her marital duties. She said, “I was like a personal assistant to the late Dr. Cole who used to force me to attend educational functions, installed in me honesty and accountability. I was the only female student she recommended to Lecture in the Department then, after I completed my first degree. I choose to celebrate her exemplary life”.

The late Dr. Cole was two terms Chairperson of the Independent Media Commission (IMC). She was accorded a Civic Laying-Out ceremony at the Freetown City Council Auditorium before laid to rest at the Kissy Road Cemetery in Freetown.

She was married to Mr. Tunde Cole, retired Solicitor General of the Law Officers Department and survived by two children, Avril Tundette Cole and Barton Cole.