James Oliver’s friends and family described him as old school, a cop’s cop, and, above all, a man who lived to help people.

Oliver, 69, who led Hooksett’s police force for 21 years, died on the morning of Monday, March 19, after his body failed to recover from surgery related to recently diagnosed lung cancer.

Oliver’ s wife, Sandy, said he died peacefully and was surrounded by family at Manchester’s Catholic Medical Center.

“He went with a lot of love,” she said. “He was a loving, caring man.”

Oliver became Hooksett’s chief of police in 1978 after 16 years with the New York Police Department, where he left as a detective. He inherited a department with nine full-time officers, two police cruisers and a budget of $100,000.

Before Oliver’s retirement in 1999 – spurred by heart problems – the department grew to include 21 full-time officers, eight dispatchers, clerical personnel and a $1.2 million budget.

He was instrumental in getting the town’s safety center, which houses the fire and police departments, in 1997.

Current Hooksett Police Chief Stephen Agrafiotis, who replaced Oliver 16 years after Oliver first hired him as a patrol officer, said its the former chief’s frank attitude about police work that’s had the most lasting effect within the department.

“If a citizen called with a problem, you went, figured out what the problem was, and you helped them the best way you can,” said Agrafiotis. “If you get back to the basics, that’s what the job is.”

To this day, Hooksett police maintain a policy whereby officers respond in person to every call.

“I think in a lot of ways today we’re continuing what he started,” said Agrafiotis.

Lorraine Keach, whom Oliver hired 18 years ago as a data program specialist, said Oliver was infinitely accessible, always ready to help anyone in need.

“Never once did that man refuse a phone call from anybody,” she said. “I know if he had his last dollar in his pocket, he would give it to somebody else who needed it more.”

Sandy Oliver said her husband would even receive phone calls from prison inmates he’d arrested who were looking to help their own friends and family avoid their fate.

“He believed you don’t take anybody’s pride away,” said Sandy Oliver. “Pride and dignity were very important to him.”

Oliver’s public service didn’t begin or end with police work, his friends say.

In November, he was elected to serve his third term as a state representative, where he was active in the criminal justice and public safety committee.

Oliver also kept apprised of the goings-on in the police department, and in 2003 he arranged a meeting between himself, Agrafiotis and former Attorney General Peter Heed that ultimately led to a conviction for the 20-year-old murder of Hooksett’s Danny Paquette.

Oliver and Agrafiotis had to convince Heed that Hooksett police had a solid plan to investigate the case, which had been dormant in the hands of the Attorney General’s Office, and the resources to do the investigation, Agrafiotis said.

Hooksett police launched the investigation until state investigators took over, and Hopkinton’s Eric Windhurst pleaded guilty to the murder last year.

“He put together a good police department, and Chief Agrafiotis is a product of that,” said Oliver’s longtime friend Michael Sorel, a real estate agent who sold Oliver his first Hooksett home. “This is a big loss for the town.”

Sorel said he recalls once having to call Oliver at 2 a.m. for some advice, a call Oliver gladly accepted.

“He was a smart, shrewd cop and a good human being. I miss him already.”

Jim Sanaras, owner of Hooksett’s Supreme House of Pizza, said he and Oliver became friends in the early 1990s when Oliver would come in to eat or just chat.

“He was real old school,” said Sanaras. “Whatever he was telling you, that was what it is. He was one of the greatest people I ever met.”

Oliver is survived by two sons, three stepsons and 10 grandchildren, to whom Oliver is known as “Papa Jim.”

His ex-wife, Carol Oliver, also died recently, on March 7.

A memorial for Oliver is scheduled for Saturday, March 24, at the Hooksett Congregational Church on Veteran’s Drive at 11 a.m. Police are planning a motorcade to lead Oliver through the Hooksett village area. Following the memorial will be a reception at the American Legion off Main Street, where Oliver was once a post commander.

“I hope we can give him a good sendoff,” said Sandy Oliver.