A Greenville police officer’s sudden passing has left many in the community mourning his death. Winston “Wink” Fussell, 70, died Thursday, Oct. 2, 2008. He suffered a massive stroke on Wednesday.

Fussell, who had worked for the GPD for more than 25 years, had been on accumulated leave since May 2008 in anticipation of his impending retirement.

Greenville Police Chief Lonzo Ingram recalls Fussell as a man “who treated people fairly and treated them with respect.”

The longtime investigator for the GPD “probably solved as many cases at his house than he did actually working,” Ingram said.

“Crimes would be committed, and people who had information about them would go to his house at night and talk to him about it. They did that because he had earned their respect. Wink certainly knew how to work an investigation,” Ingram said.

“He was a good guy and we are all going to miss him,” said Capt. Garry Martin of the Greenville Police Department.

Martin first worked with Fussell in the mid-1990s.

“I worked under Captain Fussell as a juvenile officer in Investigations . . . later, he took over as patrol commander and we worked together again. I enjoyed working for him; he was a good man,” Martin recalled.

“Captain Fussell worked in pretty much every capacity at the department. He was someone who truly cared about the people of Greenville, and he knew everybody. That helped him make a lot of cases.”

Ingram remembers Fussell as a man with a great sense of humor.

“He could always get a laugh out of you; I liked that. I remember all the times we played golf together as well as worked together. I am going to miss him,” the chief said.

Martin, who spoke with Fussell last week, said the veteran officer seemed to be really enjoying his time at home.

“He said it was about fifty percent ‘honeydo,’ and we had a laugh about that. He was also enjoying golfing, fishing, and spending time with his grandkids,” Martin said.

“He was enjoying getting to set aside the responsibilities of his job.”

Funeral services for Fussell will be at 2 p.m. Sunday afternoon, Oct. 4 at Harrison Funeral Home in Greenville, with burial to follow at Sunrise Memorial Park.

Visitation will be from 6 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. tonight, Oct. 3, at the funeral home.