1 Attachment(s)
A Lifetime of Public Service
My father-in-law recently passed and I thought I would share a little of his life. This isn't so much a condolence thread, it's more to brag about my kids grandpa. :cop:
Roy was the Chief of Police for the city for almost 39 years. Our town is a bordertown surrounded by a couple of Indian Reservations and the socio-economic characteristics make that length of service in that role noteworthy. As his illness worsened a storyline of his retirement began to develop. I never herd Roy say he retired, and I don't think anyone could say what day was his last. His retirement celebration was on the 20th, the day he died. He would have died in the police station if he had his way. Here's a link to the story about naming the municipal courtroom after him:
https://the-journal.com/articles/161...r-police-chief
This time of year the weather is pretty crappy around here, so the only place big enough to have the funeral was the recreation center. I can guarantee you that there has never been nor will there ever be that many guns in there again.:evilgrin: Speaking of guns, I never saw Roy carry a gun ever. His (mint I assume) service weapon was given to my brother-in-law who is a deputy sheriff. Here is a link to the obituary story:
https://the-journal.com/articles/162...-roy-lane-dies
One fact that was omitted from the obit was that Roy was born in Muleshoe Texas. I have never been there (that I know of). Also, this paragraph may resonate with a few of you:
Quote:
While chief, Lane handled many high-profile cases, including bank robberies, murders and drug trafficking. He led the investigation into the Cortez police officer Dale Claxton’s murder in 1998, which triggered to the state’s largest ever manhunt in Southwest Colorado and Utah. As chief, he also investigated the 2001 death of Fred Martinez, a Navajo student at Montezuma-Cortez High School who was murdered south of Cortez. The case got national attention and sparked a discussion about the LGBTQ community, garnering press from The Washington Post at the time and inspiring a now-popular PBS documentary “Two Spirits.”
Officer Claxton was killed by "domestic" terrorists, and the search was the largest ever manhunt in the US. Where I live is the same general area the murders fled to and we had to go thru a roadblock to get home. We started leaving the keys in the car so they wouldn't be inclined to break into the house to escape. :shrug: This was Roy's most difficult time.
The funeral was quite the affair but time only allowed for a couple of funny story's from the speakers. The one about shooting the mannequin when he was a young officer responding to a burglary call at the local department store in Winslow AZ wasn't told. Maybe that one was just for us.:shrug: Everyone did a wonderful job right up until the last radio call. :wah: I WILL track down the woman in dispatch who made that call and hug her. :salute:
And in the final irony, the Governor declared December 20 forevermore as Chief Roy Lane Day. Thankfully Roy learned of this a few days before he died on December 20. The proclamation is the attachment.
Anyway, I thought I would brag a little on my kid's grandpa. With all this, he considered his grandkids to be his greatest legacy. Thanks Roy and to all the rest of you who serve us public.
:salute:
