He was the ultimate volunteer
– selflessly devoting countless hours of his time and energy
into something he loved and something that benefited the entire
community, according to the people he helped at the Hollister
Police Department.
Hollister – He was the ultimate volunteer – selflessly devoting countless hours of his time and energy into something he loved and something that benefited the entire community, according to the people he helped at the Hollister Police Department.
After five years of striving to make the inner workings of the police department run more smoothly, Hollister resident Greg Cole passed away Saturday night, according to police.
Cole recently had surgery for cancer, which was successful, but developed a blood clot that took his life, said Police Chief Jeff Miller.
“He was pretty much a fixture here,” Miller said. “When someone gives that amount of time and dedication to the community, the department and the people they work with, it shows real devotion.”
After participating in a citizen’s academy, Cole got a taste for police work and began giving of his expertise in computer technology, weapons knowledge and organizational skills, Miller said,
While working full-time for IBM, Cole managed to set up the department’s wireless network for its computer system, design the property management computer system, work as the department’s range master and help coordinate the Volunteers in Policing (VIP) program, Miller said.
Only recently did he retire from his job at IBM, but he continued to conduct weapons training for officers, troubleshoot computer problems – sometimes at a moment’s notice – and a variety of other things, Miller said.
The past few weeks Cole, who was one of few civilians who received formal weapons training for the police department, was working on rifle training for officers, he said.
“Greg could have gone a number of places with the skills he had, but he chose Hollister and we’re very honored for that,” Miller said. “How much money his services saved the department and the city… I couldn’t begin to calculate the amount of value if you put it in monetary terms.”
Cole’s death is particularly emotional for officers because his wife, Gail Cole, is a multi-service officer at the department, Miller said.
“Not only do we grieve for the loss of Greg, but we grieve Gail’s loss of her husband,” he said. “It makes it particularly painful.”
While everyday operations around the department will go on as they always did, Cole’s service helped keep the department afloat technology-wise and he will be greatly missed, said Detective Sgt. James Weathers.
Whether it was a weekday or weekend, morning, noon or night, Cole was available to officers whenever a problem arose, Weather said.
“We used to bug him in the middle of the night before we had full-time IT people,” he said. “He was a good guy. He’d do anything for you.”
A memorial service for Cole will be held at the Methodist Church, located at 521 Monterey St. in Hollister at 2pm, and will be treated as a department event where officers and VIPs will be outfitted in full uniform and department vehicles will participate in the procession to the IOOF Cemetery, Miller said.
Donations can be sent to Washington Mutual under Greg and Gail Cole to help with funeral expenses.
