Former U.S. senator and Milwaukee Bucks owner Herb Cole remembered his love for both the city where he grew up and the state of Wisconsin at a memorial service attended by sports, political and business leaders Friday.
Cole, 88, passed away on December 27th after a short illness.
Speakers, including former President Barack Obama's strategist David Axelrod, prevented Mr. Cole, who shuns the spotlight, from attending his memorial service at the Fiserv Forum, where the Bucks played. He joked that he had ordered a blizzard for his sake.
Herb Cole, former NBA team owner and U.S. senator, dies at age 88
“I'm not here to mourn Herb,” Axelrod said. “I'm here to celebrate this extraordinary life and tell him how grateful I am that he was a part of my life.”
Former Major League Baseball Commissioner Bud Selig spoke of his lifelong friendship with Cole. The two met when they were six years old in elementary school in Milwaukee and had lunch together every week until his death. Selig spoke of Cole's dedication to Milwaukee, most famously evidenced by his purchase of the Bucks franchise in 1985 to keep it from leaving the city.
“His only goal was to keep the Bucks in Milwaukee, and he was willing to make sacrifices to do that,” Selig said.
A memorial service for former Wisconsin Democratic Sen. Herb Kohl will be held on Friday, January 12, 2024, at the Fiserv Forum in Milwaukee. (AP Photo/Molly Gash)
Cole sold the Bucks in 2014 and donated $100 million to the construction of Fiserv Forum. In 2018, the Bucks won their first NBA title since 1971.
Mr. Cole's nephew, Dan Cole, said his uncle had a talent for remembering the names of not only Cole employees, but also their spouses and children. During his 24 years in the Senate, Cole never boasted about his accomplishments, Dan Cole said.
Dan Cole said Cole's greatest legacy will be the scholarships he gave to teachers and children across the state, but these are just a few of his many philanthropic efforts.
Cole never married or had children, but Dan Cole said dozens of relatives from around the country, Canada and Israel came to Milwaukee to pay their respects.
Other attendees included U.S. Sen. Tammy Baldwin, U.S. Rep. Gwen Moore, Gov. Tony Evers, Wisconsin Supreme Court Justice Rebecca Durrett, state Rep. Greta Neubauer, and Milwaukee County Executive David Crowley, Milwaukee. Mayor Cavalier Johnson was included.
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Mr. Cole served in the Senate from 1988 to 2012, when Mr. Baldwin succeeded him.
