Achi news desk-
Family, friends and fans from all over the hockey world gathered in St. John’s on Friday afternoon for the funeral of broadcasting icon Bob Cole.
Cole, 90, died last week in St. John’s, surrounded by his family.
“Everything he did, he did for us. We know that, and we feel that,” daughter Megan Cole told the attendees of St. Thomas in the middle of St.
“It has been a real privilege to be able to share our amazing father with this province that he loved so much. With the country and with the world of hockey. We are heartbroken, and our days without our father will not be the same.”
Cole was known as the soundtrack to some of hockey’s greatest moments during his 50-year career. Often his voice followed the Hockey Night in Canada theme — played by the CLB Armory band following the funeral
He worked 34 of those years with broadcaster Ron MacLean, who was asked to deliver the eulogy.
“Bob is a dear, dear friend who mentored me and did a lot of mischief with me.… We all know his voice is legendary and we can hear that, but I’ll always remember the glow in his eye,” MacLean said Friday, adding that he spoke with Cole four days before his death.
“As the saying goes, the meaning of life is that it ends. The meaning of love is that it doesn’t.”
NL was always close to his heart
Former Newfoundland and Labrador premier Danny Williams said Cole represented the province with pride and grace.
“Bob gave us a special, international name. I mean he’s highly regarded, his voice is iconic,” he said. “He’s our hometown boy, and we took great pride every time he called a game.”
Cole lived in St. John’s throughout his career, and would travel weekly to wherever he was needed before returning to Newfoundland.
WATCH | Bob Cole always had a twinkle in his eye, says Ron MacLean:
Bob Cole’s funeral was in St. John’s is full of laughs and heartwarming stories about the late NHL announcer. One of the more colorful ones came from his friend and colleague Ron MacLean, who recalled a time when Cole told him that swimming in the Atlantic Ocean was nice. There was some hilarity and mayhem, and MacLean’s banter was Cole’s style.
Cole’s son Robbie told those in the church that the family lit up whenever he returned, which always came with Sunday lunch.
“We would say, ‘Dad, tell us a story.’ And that’s when he got his most captive audience,” says Cole.
Cole represented the province in other ways as well, skipping Newfoundland and Labrador in two Brier curling championships. As a rower, he competed in the Royal St. John’s Regatta.
Hockey commentator and former player Greg Millen told reporters after the service that Cole’s children, and Newfoundland, were always on Cole’s mind.
“There wasn’t a day that went by when I was with him that he wasn’t talking about his children. Pretty special,” she said. “He loved his home, and he talked a lot about Newfoundland. You know, I had to make sure I was pronouncing it right,” she added with a laugh.
Fan Evan Purcell came to the funeral wearing a powder blue Hockey Night in Canada – not dissimilar to the one Cole would have worn for broadcast.
“The best broadcaster ever. The Wayne Gretzky of commentary,” he said. “It was always so electrifying, and it always put you on the edge of your seat.”
This time of year is a busy time for Cole’s colleagues at Hockey Night in Canada, who were on TV in Toronto for the NHL playoffs the night before, but reporter and analyst Elliotte Friedman said it was important to the crew being in St. .
WATCH | They called games with him – and here’s what they’ll remember about Bob Cole:
They sat next to him in the broadcast booth for some of the biggest NHL games, and they will never forget those times with Bob Cole. Elliotte Friedman, Glenn Healy and Greg Millen say Cole loves Newfoundland, the fans and his family.
“Everyone who knew Bob and everyone who worked with Bob, you know, we all loved being around him,” Friedman said. “The thing about Bob is I don’t think you can be good in this business if you don’t have passion. And when a game went big or a moment went big, nobody had Bob’s passion. And we loved being around him.”
He told reporters that he was overcome with emotion while watching Cole’s children speak at the funeral, and that he admired how the service used the music of Frank Sinatra, one of Cole’s favorite performers.
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