(Editor’s note: A previous version of this story incorrectly stated where Cole Wohle died. Wohle was at a rodeo event in Vermont.)
Cole Wohle of Francestown was young and athletic. He had just graduated from ConVal in June, where he was on the football team, and was sometimes called “Cowboy Cole” for his love of bronco busting. It was a shock to all who knew him when he died of what is believed to be heart failure while competing in a rodeo competition in Vermont.
Wohle, 18, died Saturday, and since, his parents, Rob and Christina Wohle, owners of the Francestown Village Store, have seen a massive outpouring of memories from friends, family members and teammates posting on Facebook.
“It’s amazing. I never knew that he touched so many people’s lives,” said Rob Wohle on Monday.
While the exact cause of Wohle’s death has yet to be determined, it has left those that knew him reeling with its suddeness.
“Most of us in the community know the Wohle family and Cole,” said Francestown Fire Chief Larry Kullgren. Cole joined the department with his father as a Fire Explorer when he and his family moved to Francestown from Nevada several years ago, and recently gained his Firefighter I certification and was training to be an EMT. “It certainly was shocking to hear that a young man, his age, just graduated, had died. It was a tremendous shock when I heard.”
Deputy Chief David Kullgren agreed, saying that only last week, he and Cole had been working together on storm-related road closures for the fire department.
“He was so proud of a new leather fire helmet that his parents had gotten him for graduation,” David Kullgren recalled.
Friends and family recalled memories of simple kindnesses that Cole had performed. His football teammate Nik Maciejewski wrote about Cole’s quick wit and how easily he could make a joke.
“There was this certain charm of his that would attract everyone around him. He was always a joy to be around, and his very presence would light up a room,” Maciejewski wrote.
A neighbor, Amy Daniels, recalled a day when Cole stopped to ask if she needed help haying, and later returned to throw hay in the field and stack it in the barn well into the evening hours.
“People always talk well about a person after their death,” said David Kullgren. “But he really was just a wicked good kid, a clean kid, a nice person.”
Cole’s body will be flown to Vermont from Nevada, and will be accompanied by an escort of State Troopers and a Francestown fire truck into Peterborough.
Rob Wohle said that his son’s doctors believe his death to be a result of heart failure.
Heart failure in teens or young men is very uncommon, but can be caused by a number of factors. Some are the same as in a regular heart attack – smoking, high blood pressure or cholesterol, physical inactivity – but in cases of sudden cardiac arrests, which differ from heart attacks, the causes can stem from other areas such as congenital defects or genetic disorders. Sometimes, there are no red flags signaling anything might be wrong before a sudden cardiac arrest occurs.
Ashley Saari can be reached at 924-7172, ext. 234 or at asaari@ledgertrancript.com.