Born on January 27, 1934 to John H. and Euna Kole, John “Jack” Kole grew up in Zealand, Michigan where his father was an automobile mechanic and his mother was a hospital administrator. Kole attended the local public schools and upon graduation from high school, he enrolled at Michigan State University where he graduated with a Bachelor of Arts. During his summers as a college student he worked at the Holland Evening Sentinel. After graduation, Kole attended Northwestern University in Evanston, Illinois, graduating with a Master's degree in journalism in 1956. Two days after his graduation Kole went to work for the Milwaukee Journal as an obituary writer. In a matter of months Kole was reporting on the Milwaukee suburbs and federal court cases. Early in 1959, he was promoted to city hall editor, a position that he held until 1962. At this time Kole was awarded a Nieman Fellowship at Harvard University. When he returned to Milwaukee in the following year Kole resumed political reporting.
In 1963 Kole switched to the combined Washington, D.C. bureau of the Milwaukee Journal and the Milwaukee Sentinel. Both papers were owned by the Journal Company, and Kole wrote stories that appeared in both newspapers until 1966 when the Milwaukee Sentinel established an independent bureau. In 1970, Laurence “Con” Eklund retired as bureau chief, and Kole was chosen to replace him. Frank Aukofer, a prominent civil rights reporter at the Milwaukee Journal, joined him from Milwaukee. The two men made up the bureau staff until 1989 when Kole resigned to work for congressman David Obey.
Jack Kole retired in 1997. Jack and Betty Kole are the parents of five children, including two sets of twin daughters.
