The 62-year-old suffered a fatal event while mentally calculating whether an approaching 20-something belonged to cousin Martha or Uncle Stan.
COLUMBUS, Ohio — Greg Cole, 62, died Sunday after suffering a fatal cerebral event while attempting to trace the exact lineage of a young man approaching him at a rented state park pavilion.
Cole, who survived two agonizingly slow kitchen remodels and held the local record for returning a borrowed pressure washer within 24 hours, was remembered as a man of quiet endurance. Witnesses report Cole was holding a paper plate of baked beans when he locked eyes with a 20-something attendee. Medical officials confirmed his heart failed under the immense cognitive strain of calculating whether the boy belonged to his cousin Martha or was one of Uncle Stan's step-children from a brief second marriage.
He just couldn't bear the shame of asking a relative for their name, even if he hadn't seen them since the Clinton administration.
Cole is survived by his wife, three children, and the young man, who later identified himself as a nephew's college roommate who only came for the free hot dogs.