Obituary Senator Coke   Col. Chas. B. Pearre of Waco, attending our District Court, gave a vivid account of the burial of the late Senator Coke last Sunday. Just as the body was being lowered, before the straps were released, lightening struck a tree within a few steps of the grave, splintering it and peeling the bark from top to bottom. The metallic casket turned purple. Although the shock was felt by those present, no one was seriously hurt. Col. Pearre will be remembered here as the principal counsel in defense of Tom Varnel in two long trials. Abstracted from History of Ellis County compiled by Mrs. A. L. Feltenberger and the Rebecca Boyce Chapter DAR.   Copyright © 1999-2016, Ellis County TXGenWeb. All Rights Reserved. This page was last modified: Thursday, 01-Jul-2021 13:20:19 MDT