Charles “Chuck” Edward Cole

Charles “Chuck” Edward Cole, died Aug. 23, 2026. He was 88.

Cole was born on Dec. 2, 1937, in a log cabin in Greenup, Kentucky. He spent his early childhood education in a one-room schoolhouse with a dirt floor.

At the age of 17, he joined the United States Navy and served from 1954 to 1958 as a sonar operator aboard the USS Conway (DD-507), a Fletcher-class destroyer. In 1959, he joined Remington Rand. He became involved with the UNIVAC I, one of the first commercially available general-purpose computers. He worked on the installation and operation of the ILLIAC IV computer system at NASA, an experience that led to employment at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL). During his 30 years at LLNL, he held a variety of assignments, including establishing the Lab’s first computer security organization and the formation of the Computer Incident Advisory Capability (CIAC) group to respond to the rapidly growing computer security threats brought about by the Internet and increasing global connectivity.

He is survived by his wife, Pat; his sister, Marilyn; his children, Vicki and her husband, Roy; Debbie; Mike; and Scott and his wife, Hope; five granddaughters; 11 great-grandchildren; and one great-great-granddaughter, his many much-loved nieces and nephews, along with extended family and his many friends. He was preceded in death by his parents, Raymond and Lillian Cole, and his brother, Robert Paul Cole.