When Cole Thompson died suddenly in June 2025, his wife, Niki, and their two young sons, Tagg and Troop, were left navigating a life they never expected. Cole was a beloved husband and father and the head coach of his son’s baseball team. He suffered a widowmaker heart attack during practice, on the field. His sons were just 6 and 5 years old.
Niki had always known about The WARM Place. She had friends who were volunteers and board members, but she says she never understood just how meaningful its services could be until her family needed them. Both boys were initially apprehensive about attending The WARM Place, but quickly grew comfortable in their groups.
“The WARM Place has equipped my kids to understand the emotions surrounding their dad’s death,” Niki says. “Kids often feel sad, mad, confused, angry, but they don’t know how to identify the emotion.” Most importantly, Niki says The WARM Place gives her boys a place where they don’t have to pretend they are okay. “My boys know they’re in a space that is exclusively built for their devastation,” she says. “It’s a place that cares about the paramount of what happened to them, and they don’t have to put on a brave face.”
One day, Tagg told his mom, “I’m sick of dad being dead. I’m sick of being the kid whose dad died.” Niki says The WARM Place has helped him understand that, while he is living with something incredibly difficult, he is not living through it alone. “They’re amongst peers who are walking the same path. And that is important.” The WARM Place has also given Niki support as she navigates grief and parenting after suddenly becoming a single parent.
“Sudden death of a loved one completely explodes the ground beneath you,” Niki says. “For me, I went from a two-person team to an only parent overnight.” Through the adult group, Niki has found encouragement, understanding and practical insight from other parents walking a similar path. “It’s hard to know if I’m doing any of this ‘right’ as a parent,” she says. “But when I am there I always feel validated. I feel encouraged, I feel seen, and I feel like I am not alone.”
For Niki and her boys, remembering Cole has become part of everyday life. The Aledo baseball community has honored his legacy by dedicating the field where he died as Cole Thompson Field #10 and creating an outfield wall in his memory. Tagg and Troop visit often, and during the spring season, every player wore a hat with Cole’s initials stitched into it.
For the Thompson family, grief will always be part of their story. But so will love, connection, remembrance—and the community they have found at The WARM Place. “The WARM Place bridges that gap,” Niki says. “They help my children understand the emotions they’ll feel their whole life pertaining to their dad’s death at such a young age. Furthermore, they are given the tools on how to handle those feelings—which is so very important.”
