Detective Sgt. Dave Gordon of the Santa Clara Sheriff's Department, who died of a heart attack on Aug. 4, was the department's "gentle giant."

He was 47.

Gordon collapsed during his daily workout at an East Bay gym on the morning of Aug. 4. Attempts to revive him failed.

"He was a big guy," said Lt. Luther Pugh, Gordon's supervisor. "In one sense, his size could really intimidate people. But he went to great lengths to put people at ease."

Lt. Pugh said that Gordon chose his words with care. "He was an ordained minister. His religious upbringing and compassion was reflected even in the way he worked," Pugh said. "One thing that we really look for while training officers is patience. Sgt. Gordon was a very patient man."

He said in the last few months, Gordon had been trying to help a family who had lost a daughter. "He was frustrated that he could not give them solace," Pugh said.

Several hundred law-enforcement officials showed up for Gordon's emotional memorial service at the South Bay Community Church in Fremont on Aug. 10. Santa Clara County Sheriff Laurie Smith presented Gordon's badge and identification to his wife, Lisa, during the ceremony. A day later, Sgt. Gordon was laid to rest at the veterans' cemetery in Gustine.

Gordon was hired as a deputy at the sheriff's department in August 1985. He served as a patrol officer in Cupertino for two years, from 1999 through 2000.

He had been working as a detective at the robbery and homicide department since 2001.

"His job did not change him. He remained the same person I knew in the '80s," said West Valley Substation Capt. John Hirokawa.

Hirokawa said Gordon carried over some of his training as a minister into his job as a police officer. "I never saw him being demeaning to anyone or try to take advantage of someone," Hirokawa said.

Perhaps the person who knew him best was Capt. Kevin Jensen, who is now part of the Stanford University Department of Public Safety. Jensen first met him in 1986 and worked with him at a men's correctional facility. They were later part of a SWAT team together.

"It was contagious to have him around. He could make the air lighter with his presence," Jensen said. "He believed he could stop the cycle of suffering."

Besides his wife, Lisa, Gordon is survived by two children: Mary, a college student, and David Jr., who is in high school.

Gordon was an enthusiastic Washington Redskins fan. "He spent his childhood on the East Coast. He remained loyal to the Redskins," Pugh said.

Jensen said that Gordon was very fond of children and would often talk and play basketball with them.

"He needed a body that big to contain that big of a heart," Jensen said.