Notifications

No notifications
We will send an invite after you submit!

Memories & condolences

Year (Optional)
Location (Optional)
Caption
YouTube/Facebook/Vimeo Link
Caption
Who is in this photo?
Or start with a template for inspiration
Cancel
By posting this memory, you agree to our Terms of Service and Privacy Notice.
This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.
I was very fortunate to meet Greg while interning at the PHS Wildlife department.
I’ll never forget when we had barn owls in the raptor room and Greg was talking me through catching one up so that we could treat it. Just grab the feet and pull it out… I had my gloves on and felt ready but as soon as we opened the kennel door the owl came flying out at me, claws at the ready! After an initial frenzy we caught it up without any injury to us or the bird but I remember him cracking up the rest of the day thinking about how I was almost toast. He told me if I could handle a barn owl attack I could handle anything.

He was a kind and giving teacher. I’m so grateful to have known him. My condolences to his family and friends. He will be deeply missed.
I was fortunate to meet Greg through my Neighbor Jeannie Ewan, who recommended Greg as a possible pet sitter.  Greg proved to be a wonderful, caring, responsible pet sitter for my dog Poppy.  Poppy absolutely adored Greg and loved to see him.  We both will miss his warm smile and love of animals.  RIP Greg
Helping hands

In lieu of flowers

Please consider a gift to Texas Litter Control.
$1,980.00
Raised by 30 people
Greg was one of my roommates  in San Mateo. He was such a kind man. I was so lucky to have known him briefly. I will always remember our kitchen conversations.  💜
Always a champion for wildlif…
Peninsula Humane Society & SPCA Adoption Center, Rollins Road, Burlingame, CA, USA
Always a champion for wildlife. He will be dearly missed
Comments:
  • Please make sure you've written a comment before it can be published. If you prefer to remove your comment, you can delete it.
  • Sorry, we had some trouble updating your comment.

Greg was one of the most generous, kind and caring people I've had the opportunity to learn from and work with over many years.    

Early on in his adventures with PHS Wildlife, one of the volunteers passed out while steadying a Murre as we were treating it.  Greg and I both saw her 'go down' at the same time and somehow managed to secure the Murre and help the volunteer to the ground safely.  His quick action and ability to maintain complete calm as we helped the volunteer, and aided the Murre, represented to me Greg's compassion, knowledge and complete attention to his world.    

Greg also cared for our dog, Molly, many times while we traveled.   His presence was ALWAYS special for Molly, and us!  

I am so grateful to have known Greg...even just a little bit.  May his memory be a blessing.    Onward.

Comments:
  • Please make sure you've written a comment before it can be published. If you prefer to remove your comment, you can delete it.
  • Sorry, we had some trouble updating your comment.
Greg's off-kilter humor and unfailing kindness were highlights for us volunteers at the Peninsula Humane Society.  He had a particular knack for praising our efforts that was inspiring. He once complimented me on the speed with which I did a sinkful of dishes, probably doubling my productivity. Greg was always so attentive and sympathetic when I came in with ailing foster squirrels. He made me feel like a valued member of a life-saving team. 
I had the pleasure of working with Greg at Peninsula Humane Society & SPCA. He was so dedicated to the animals in our care, and a joy to be around. Back in 2017, our local NBC station did a story about a genius CPR trick Greg performed on a pelican that arrived at our shelter, and interviewed Greg. Greg's creative thinking saved the life of this bird, just one of the many animals Greg saved. Greg was one of a kind and made our world a better place. He will be dearly missed. 
Comments:
  • Please make sure you've written a comment before it can be published. If you prefer to remove your comment, you can delete it.
  • Sorry, we had some trouble updating your comment.
  • Please make sure you've written a comment before it can be published. If you prefer to remove your comment, you can delete it.
  • Sorry, we had some trouble updating your comment.
  • Please make sure you've written a comment before it can be published. If you prefer to remove your comment, you can delete it.
  • Sorry, we had some trouble updating your comment.
  • Please make sure you've written a comment before it can be published. If you prefer to remove your comment, you can delete it.
  • Sorry, we had some trouble updating your comment.
  • Please make sure you've written a comment before it can be published. If you prefer to remove your comment, you can delete it.
  • Sorry, we had some trouble updating your comment.
I knew Greg from PHS. He was so sweet and funny when you got to know him.
He is dearly missed
Lisa

All four members of our family have been volunteering at the Peninsula Humane Society and SPCA, where Greg worked, for the past four years. Not only was he dedicated to the welfare of the wildlife under his care, but he was also committed to the education of us volunteers. He gave us opportunities to learn through experience and inspired us. Every time I feed a squirrel or deal with an aggressive raccoon, I hear Greg's voice in my head giving me advice.

More importantly, Greg was a kind human being with a great sense of humor. He was also patient and forgiving of mistakes. I always enjoyed chatting with him about random topics. But I did have to watch out for moments when he was joking with a sly half-smile on his face. :-) We will miss him. 

To Greg's family: please accept our sincerest condolences for your loss and our gratitude for allowing him to serve his country.

Heather Willis
Peninsula Humane Society & SPCA Adoption Center, Rollins Road, Burlingame, CA, USA
As a volunteer at PHS, I learned so much from Greg working the evening shift over the course of several years. He always took the time to teach me a new procedure or introduce me to a new species, and let me help him in the exam room often. He was a true pleasure to work with—laid back, patient, calm, and funny. He fooled me good twice in the same shift, working with my first brown pelican. I was nervous about handling one for the first time and I asked Greg how much it weighed, so I’d be ready to handle its size and weight when I got it out of its enclosure. He said something like, “Mmm…maybe 30-35 lbs?” I proceeded to hulk the bird out of its enclosure—all 6 lbs of it—and into my lap where I had to catch my breath from the surprise and extremely unnecessary level of exertion. He got me again when I pulled back the towel to expose its face and I gasped to see a giant slash down the side of the birds pouch. “Did I do that?!?!” I asked, horrified. He gasped and grimaced and pulled back in horror, and then told me that no…that’s why the bird had been brought in. So funny. So wrong and so funny.

On another note, I was a graphic designer for over 20 years, and discovered a passion for animal care and wildlife rehabilitation 10 years ago as a volunteer. I felt stuck in a design career I didn’t like, one that caused me stress and anxiety every single day. It was a big part of my struggle with depression and anxiety. I start an entry level job as a vet tech tomorrow. It’s my first step toward a new career, and for the first time in decades I’m excited to wake up and go to work. A solid amount of the hands-on experience and acquired skills that got me the position was thanks to Greg’s willingness to let me get my hands dirty, and sticky, and poopy, and bitten by as many different animals as he did. He truly had a hand in changing the course of my life, and I’ll forever be grateful.
I am so, so sorry to hear of Greg's passing. I knew Greg the summer of 2019; I was a wildlife intern, and he was so much fun to work with. Greg had an acerbic sense of humor, and I loved to make him laugh. He was so hard-working and devoted to the animals and very keen that everything be done right. He told me once not to take him as a role model, and I suggested he could be 90% of my role model and I'd add someone else in for the other 10%, and he thought that was just right. What a horrible loss to his friends, his family, and everyone who knew him and indeed to the world at large. - Carole Morrell
I was with Greg at PHS from the first squirrel season and I stayed on until right when COVID hit and my mother didn’t want me to go back (so I was there August 2019 - March 2020) He was always someone I looked forward to seeing, and he was a great teacher, someone who really helped foster my love of wildlife, and someone who took notice when it was very clear I was having a really hard time. He worked really hard and I can’t believe that he’s gone. He was so kind and lively, always having a laugh with everyone when we could, on the down time we had. I’m thankful I worked with him before he left to Texas, and that he was one of the people who taught me. I’m sorry for your loss
I volunteered with my daughter at the Wildlife Center one season and found him to be very pleasant, knowldegeable, down to eart  and fun to chat with.  I am so very sad to hear another person in the veterinary /vet  tech field leave way to soon.  Very very sad to hear.  Linda Hall, DVM
To his family and friends, I send you my condolences. I hadn't seen Greg since high school days (Carlmont High School, c/o 2001.) I have fond memories of singing in a punk/ska band with him way back then. He played the trombone and his smile lit up the stage! Thank you for the great times spent making music and laughing with you, Greg! You will be deeply missed. 
Comments:
  • Please make sure you've written a comment before it can be published. If you prefer to remove your comment, you can delete it.
  • Sorry, we had some trouble updating your comment.
  • Please make sure you've written a comment before it can be published. If you prefer to remove your comment, you can delete it.
  • Sorry, we had some trouble updating your comment.
Douglas Kirkwood
2016, Alexander's Steakhouse, Stevens Creek Boulevard, Cupertino, CA, USA
I guess it was Greg's 34th birthday, so I asked Greg how he was planning to celebrate.  No plans.  I remembered a few weeks earlier he had told me that he had never been to a real steak restaurant, so I asked if he wanted to go to the best steakhouse in the Bay Area with me.  I was pleasantly surprised when he said "Yes" because I am 30 years older than he was.  We were good friends at the Peninsula Humane Society since 2012(he started about a month before me), but had never done anything together outside of Wildlife.  He trained me on day one in Palo Alto and we moved to Burlingame when Palo Alto closed.  Anyway, we met up at Alexander's and he got the ribeye and a side of mac 'n cheese.  He loved it all.  He really appreciated it and spoke about it often.  We had plans to go to the House of Prime Rib, but never got there.  But, he finally got his first real steak after 34 years and I got a memory to last me a lifetime.
I still feel like I am going to walk into the surgery suite in Spring and see you. Everyone at TLC misses you.

Want to see more?

Get notified when new photos, stories and other important updates are shared.

Get grief support

Connect with others in a formal or informal capacity.

Recent contributors

Lauren Fetterman
Tina Dito
Dominic Peralta
See all contributorsRight arrow
×

Stay in the loop

Greg Hassett