WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. - Cole D. Petty, 22, passed away suddenly on Feb. 23, 2018 in West Lafayette, Ind.

Family, friends and others whose lives Cole touched are invited to attend an open house in memory of Cole from 1-5 p.m. on Friday, April 6 at the Purdue University Memorial Union, 101 N. Grant St., West Lafayette, Ind. to grieve, tell stories from Cole’s life, laugh, smile and support.

Cole was born Dec. 22, 1995 in Indianapolis, Ind. to Bret and Lisa (Zolper) Petty.

Survivors include his parents of Crawfordsville, Ind.; one brother, Graham (Elizabeth) Petty of Gallatin, Tenn.; his paternal grandparents, Lou and Wanda Petty of Avon, Ind.; his maternal grandfather, Joseph Zolper of Mendota; the love of his life, Megan Tietjen of Floral Park, N.Y.; several aunts and uncles, Cindy Petty and Chris Threlkle of Plainfield, Ind., Joseph (Ellen) Zolper of Hanover Park, Amy (Mike) Gahan of Mendota, Renee (Joe) Tonioni of Sugar Grove, Angela (Dr. Steve) Maskin of Tampa, Fla., LeighAnne (Dr. Mike) Gibbs of Avon, Ind., April (Terry) Eutis of Mendota and Scott (Rose) Bertrand of Naperville; and 18 cousins.

He was preceded in death by his maternal grandmother, Karen Zolper.

Cole attended St. Malachy Catholic School in Brownsburg, Ind., Cardinal Ritter High School in Indianapolis, and graduated from Southmount High School in 2014. He was currently attending Purdue University School of Agriculture. He graduated from the United States Marine Corp Officer Candidate School, Quantico, Va. in August 2017 and was set to commission as an officer in the Marine Corps in 2018 after graduation from Purdue. Cole had a passion for the outdoors with all of the wildlife on this beautiful planet. Anyone who had the pleasure of ever meeting him will remember his sense of humor, sarcasm and overall good nature. He was a true friend to many.

Memorial donations may be directed to the Montgomery County Community Foundation (mccf-in.org) in memory of Cole Petty. The donations will be added to a scholarship fund to benefit graduates of Southmont High School in memory of Cole Petty. As an alternative, donations may be directed in memory of Cole Petty to Fisher House (fisherhouse.org), which benefits military and veterans’ families.