‘He was like a big bear’: Security guard slain at nightclub remembered as protective, kind
Nicholas Cole wasn’t going to make the cut for the basketball team his senior year at Albemarle High School.
He wasn’t a great player. In fact, he was a little below average. But he was such a hard worker and dedicated team member, that coach Marc Raye let him on the team, anyway.
That’s the trait Raye remembers most about Cole — he was a hard worker.
Cole, 26, died after being shot while working at a nightclub the last weekend in April.
Raye said Cole was kind, funny and genuine.
Cole was so joyful he brought happiness into every room he walked into, his younger brother, Jason Moon said.
“Every room he walked into, sooner or later everyone would be laughing in there,” Moon said.
Dozens of posts made by friends and family members on Cole’s social media relay the same message: He was a person who was a friend to everyone and had a larger-than-life personality.
Raye said Cole was always thinking about the people around him. On several occasions he offered to bring Raye lunch when he knew he had a busy day at work. On another occasion, he overheard that another player couldn’t afford playing shoes and offered to help pay for them.
“He was a great guy, he was a nice guy. He was one that would help you out if you needed help,” Raye said in an interview with The Charlotte Observer. “He had a big heart.”
Cole grew up in Mississippi before moving to Kannapolis, North Carolina. He is survived by his parents, four brothers and three sisters, according to his obituary.
Cole was shot while working security at Diamonds of Charlotte, an adult entertainment club in a north Tryon neighborhood, according to the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department. He died at the hospital on Saturday, April 29 just before 3 a.m.
Moon said he remembers Cole being a good big brother who played games with him, was always there for him, and kept him laughing.
When Moon was 6 years old, he was hit by a car and had a metal rod placed in his leg, forcing him to miss playing on his youth football team that year. Cole took it upon himself to practice with his little brother and teach him how to play.
“He was like a big bear,” Moon said. “Protective and nice.”
Cole was a high school football player and wrestler — and also a basketball player, of course. Some of his friends affectionately referred to him as “Big Nick.”
Raye said Cole had dreams of someday starting his own business, and being his own boss. His family said before he died, he was accomplishing his dreams.
“We lost a good one, we lost a kind one, and we lost one that had an infectious smile,” Raye said.
