2022 Last Ring Notices

Henry Vanderlaan #3134, Retired Seattle Police Detective, passed away on December 31, 2022, at 79 years of age. 

Henry was born in Hengelo, Holland, during World War II. In 1957, at 14 years of age, his family moved to Ogden, Utah, before settling in Salt Lake City. After graduation, Henry signed up for the National Guard and later went on a two-and-a-half-year mission.

Over the next couple of years, he met his future wife LuAnn, had a job in accounting he was not really excited about, married LuAnn, and started a family. 

His brother, Rudy Vanderlaan #2767, was already working for Seattle PD and was encouraging Henry to take the test. Henry was hired on May 6, 1969, and the family settled into the Redmond area was considered “way out there.” 

Henry’s first assignment was the East Precinct, Capitol Hill area, as this was during the riots. He recalled standing next to one officer, and in a second, he turned around and back again; the officer was down on the street and had been hit with a brick to his head. Later, Henry would be assigned to the South Precinct and partnered up with Barry Schoengarth #2845.

On March 26, 1973, Henry was promoted to Detective and assigned to the Juvenile Unit, where he worked until 1975. Then, Henry was assigned to the Homicide Robbery Unit. On September 22, 1976, Henry was following up on an active and evolving case with patrol officers at a West Seattle residence. He knocked on the door, and no one was home. Shortly after, Officer Dorian Halvorson approached the door, it opened, and a woman appeared. Officer Halvorson pushed the woman up the staircase to safety. As the suspect stood in the doorway, the suspect fatally shot Officer Halvorson.

In Mid-1980, the LEAP (Law Enforcement Assistance Program) education program was in place; Henry returned to school like many others. LEAP was managed through the University of Puget Sound, where Henry obtained his master’s degree in political science. 
Around 1983, Henry wanted a change of pace and asked to be assigned back to the Juvenile Unit (North), where he finished the 27th year of his career, retiring on November 7, 1997. Henry often said he loved his job dearly because it was different daily.

After retirement, Henry and LuAnn decided to return to Utah and enjoy some sunshine. They enjoyed hiking and road trips and traveled to Europe several times. Enjoying Germany, Holland, and several East Coast states where their children lived, Washington DC, and Virginia. Henry was an avid reader of history, specifically World War II, and created quite an extensive library. 

Henry and LuAnn were married 57 years when Henry passed away on December 31, 2022. He is survived by his son Devin; daughters Stacy, Jamie, and Kelly; and five grandchildren. 

Steve Redmond #5763, Active Seattle Police Officer, passed away on Friday, December 30, 2022, at 54 years of age.

Steve was born and raised in the Spokane area. After graduating from Shadle High School, and went on to attend the University of Montana for a couple of years on a football scholarship. Coincidentally, Gary Boulden #5397 has known the family for years, as he was the family’s parish priest in Spokane. In 1989, Steve started his police career as a Reserve Officer with the Spokane Police Department. Through a friend, he agreed to a blind date and met his wife, Deanna.  

In 1991, Steve earned his bachelor’s degree in criminal justice. Although it took some convincing from a friend, Steve tested with Seattle PD and was assigned to Academy Class #269 on May 4, 1992. After graduating, Steve was assigned to a foot beat on Capitol Hill and later transferred to the 3rd Watch Patrol East Precinct, where he first partnered with Jack Lone #5119
and later Nick Bauer #5824. Steve went to the Bicycle Squad, where he invented and patented  the handlebar mitts that protect officers’ hands in the cold winter months. Steve loved motorcycle riding, so his transition from Patrol into the Traffic Unit came easily. Working first in the DUI squad and later, moving into Motorcycles.  

By 2005, Steve was a Department’s CISM Team member and had worked with SafeCallNow. In 2012, Steve created Code 4 Northwest. Steve had an unending desire to help other first responders and did so with great care and compassion. He coordinated what could be a very chaotic process into something that appeared seamless to the person in need and made it possible for all to reclaim their lives. Steve affected countless lives in every rank and type of first responder duty/job.

In 2014, Steve was assigned to the Wellness Unit, where he worked alongside academy classmate Sgt. James Danielson #5760. A local TV host had lost a daughter from an overdose. Through that, Steve championed the efforts for Narcan training and certification for the Department. Steve assisted in coordinating the Department’s vest replacement project before he transferred back to Motorcycles by the end of 2020.

Steve got his love of flying early in life. In 1999, Steve earned his Pilot’s license; He enjoyed golfing and would periodically schedule weekend getaways.  Paul, Steve’s dad, would fly many friends including, John Bernasconi #3113, Rob Blanco #5283, AC Torrescano #4743, and Randy Jokela #5453, to Spokane for a weekend of golf.  

Steve passed away on December 30, 2022, after almost 30 years of service. He is survived by his wife of 31 years, Deanna; his two sons, Lucas, and Aiden; his father, Paul; and many family members and friends.

Mike Severance #2866, Retired Seattle Police Patrol Officer, passed away on December 14, 2022, at 76 years of age.  

Mike was born in Seattle but grew up on several Marine Corps Bases, although Mike and his family always considered Seattle to be home. By 1964, Mike graduated from Mater Dei High School in Santa Ana, CA. He received a scholarship to Seattle University, where he earned his bachelor's degree in mathematics while serving in the Marine Corps Reserve. 

After graduation, Mike worked at Boeing Space Center Computer Lab. Having a family dedicated to public service, including his father, Colonel Dave Severance, the company commander of the Marines that raised the flags on Iwo Jima; Mike's uncle, Vic Heins #1882, and his brother, Dave Severance #2381; finally convinced Mike to test with SPD. 

Mike was hired as a cadet on February 26, 1968. He worked in Burglary, Homicide, Training, and Communications. SPD had lowered the minimum age requirement from 23 to 21, and Mike was officially sworn in as an Officer on April 1, 1969. He graduated from Academy Class #59. The department FTO program started with Class #60, and Mike was one of the first FTOs.  

Except for the six months Mike spent as a dispatcher, Mike's entire career was in Patrol. Having worked in every area in Seattle and loved being a street cop. Mike served on the SPOG Board of Directors as Secretary-Treasurer. After training at the US Army Marksmanship Unit in 1980, Mike became one of the first two SPD officers to be certified as Police Snipers by the Criminal Justice Training Center. Mike was known to pen his own style of a "greenie." He wrote articles for the Guardian as well. Rumor has it that one day the Chief's aide walked into Chief Fitzsimmons' office and said he had some good news and some bad news. The good news is "Mike got rid of his typewriter." “Well, what's the bad news," the Chief asked; the aide sheepishly said, "He just bought a word processor."  

In 2010, Mike discovered almost three dozen SPD Fallen Officer's families had not been honored with their loved one's Medal of Honor, an award to those officers killed in the line of duty between 1881 and 1977. Mike located the families, and by the end of 2014, all the medals were in the hands of the families and loved ones. Mike considered this his greatest honor and accomplishment of his career as he spent years researching the lives and deaths of the fallen, writing detailed accounts of each one and ensuring they were never forgotten. Additionally, Mike found three SPD officers buried in unmarked graves and ensured they now had headstones. 

Mike retired on August 27, 2014, after 46+ years of service. After retirement, Mike was active in the RSPOA and SPD Golf Association and enjoyed traveling anywhere with a golf course. In addition, he continued to honor fallen officers engaging state and local authorities, ensuring they were posthumously awarded the Medal of Honor, including Washington State's first law enforcement officer to be killed in the line of duty, Deputy Wesley Cherry, with a memorial bench at Lake View Cemetery.
  
Mike is survived by his daughters Melissa and Angela, five grandchildren, and his sister Lynn. Sadly, his brother Dave #2381 passed away just four months after Mike, on April 11, 2023.

Erling “Bud” Butte-Dahl #2704, Retired Seattle Patrol Officer, passed away on November 27, 2022, at 78 years of age. 

Bud, as he was called in his younger years, was born, and raised in Queens, New York. At age 14, Bud left home and went to live with his grandfather in Anchorage, Alaska. After graduating High School in Anchorage, Bud moved first to Idaho and then eventually made his way to Seattle. 

Bud was hired by Seattle PD on May 23, 1967. He was assigned to Patrol Downtown. Bud retired on disability on October 30, 1971. 

He went back to school and earned a BA in Public Administration from the University of Puget Sound, though he was forever a UW husky football fan. Bud went on to live an entrepreneurial life, buying and selling real estate, managing his properties in Seattle and around Washington State, and for a number of years establishing and running a successful painting and landscaping business. 

During his off time, he enjoyed running and traveling and had a passion for literature and the arts. For more than a decade he spent six months of every year traveling in the South Pacific, enjoying the beaches of Australia, New Zealand, Fiji, and Tahiti. 

In his later years, Bud preferred to be called by his given name, Erling. He bought a ranch in Ferry County, Washington and spent years renovating, building a barn and outbuildings, and making it into his own little piece of paradise.

Erling is survived by his daughters, Jennifer and Lisa, his son Erik and five grandchildren; and his two sisters, Barbara, and Betty.

Jon Olson #3485, Retired Seattle Police Detective, passed away on Saturday, November 12, 2022, at 85 years of age.

Jon was born in Toledo, Ohio. His father worked in the shipyards and was transferred, for the war efforts, to Venice, California. In 1955, the family moved to the Burien area, where Jon graduated from Highline High School.

Right after graduation, Jon enlisted in the US Air Force. He served four years as an Airman/Engine Mechanic and was based in Yokata, Japan. When Jon returned home, he started a family and went to work at Boeing as a draftsman. After working at Boeing for 11 years, Boeing was laying off employees, and even though Jon wasn’t sure he could pass the physical at the time, he tested for Seattle PD. As a result, Jon was hired by Seattle PD on September 25, 1970. He attended Academy Class #66 along with Ray Loso #3489, Bob Gebo #3487, and Dave Buff #3481, to name a few. Jon commented proudly was the oldest recruit of the class.

Jon was assigned to the Georgetown Precinct and later to Wallingford Precinct. Jon loved to bike and often rode to the precincts from his home in Burien. Jon also worked in the TAC squad at some point, but the exact time is unknown.

On June 7, 1982, Jon was promoted to Detective and assigned to the Auto Theft Unit. In 1989, Jon married Phyllis #4850, who worked in Records. They were married until her passing in 2003. After 30 years of service, Jon retired on September 29, 2000.

In a twist of fate, while outside one day, Jon recognized a woman and asked if her name was Elizabeth. They had mutual friends early their early 20s and had no idea they had been neighbors for several years. Elizabeth and Jon were married in October 2006. Elizabeth told of the many times Jon spoke of the love of his job and the fellow officers he had the pleasure of working with.

Jon is survived by his wife of 16 years, Elizabeth. His daughter Leanne and three grandchildren.   <

Robert “Bob” Kirkbride #3569, retired Seattle Police Officer, passed away on Thursday, November 3, 2022, at 70 years of age. 

Bob was born and raised in Seattle's Beacon Hill and Rainier Valley area. He graduated from Cleveland High School. 

On April 26, 1971, Bob became an SPD Cadet and attended the University of Washington. He and his wife JoAnn were married in August 1973. 

Bob accepted the call to join SPD full-time on October 9, 1973, and was officially hired as a recruit. However, life was busy, so he paused schooling and was assigned to Academy class #73 along with John Moffat #3522, Rod Hamlet #3699, and Steve Macomber #3573, to name a few. 

Bob's first assignment included Rainier Valley and Highpoint. After 10 years of service, Bob retired with a line of duty disability. However, Bob wanted to return to school for his bachelor’s degree, so he enrolled at Evergreen State College, earning his associate degree in psychology.  

Bob went to work for a short time at the Juvenile Detention Center in Shelton but had higher aspirations. He formed Kirkbride Associates. A recruiting company serving HVAC and mechanical engineering firms across the country. He was well known throughout the state by large companies as the "go-to" for large jobs. 

Bob dearly loved his family, friends, fishing (for Salmon locally and Marlin fishing in Mexico), and his dogs! 

Bob is survived by his wife of 49 years, JoAnn, and their children, Brian, Tracy, and Lindsey.

Virgil (Pat) McDonald #5159, retired Seattle Police Officer, passed away on November 11, 2022, at 69 years of age. As his SPD family knows him, Virgil was born in Greenville, Mississippi, where his father was based in the Marine Corps. In Virgil's youth, they moved to 29 Palms, California, where he graduated from high school.

After graduating, Virgil was off to Monroe, Louisiana, where he enlisted in the Army to go to Vietnam but ended up going through the Military Police Academy and was assigned to Northeast Louisiana University/Texas State University until 1976, where he excelled in Canine behavior and handling and last promotion as the unit supervisor.

The Army had other plans for Virgil and sent him to Germany for three years with a top-secret clearance. Upon leaving the Army, Virgil moved to be near his family in Patton Village, Texas, where he worked as a Cleveland Texas police officer before moving on to Huntsville Police Department and then settling into the Richmond Texas Police Department for 10 years, where he worked in Patrol, undercover work, and homicide investigations. He was promoted to Sergeant.

In 1981, Virgil married Mariam, whom he met at his younger brother's wedding. In May 1987, the couple decided to move to Washington State after interviewing and being assigned an Academy date for Seattle Police. During Virgil's FTO rotation, it is rumored that he was preparing to make a traffic stop and broadcast, in his Texas drawl, "Dispaatchhh, I'm fixin' to make a stop…." Word was, there was a quick remedial after that!

Virgil's first assignment was to 2nd atch, Edward Sector, working alongside Sgt. Joe Parks #3318, Mark Oliphant #4923, Vince Guballa #4821, Terry Beaver #4440, Malinda Wilson #5097, Loren Grumbly #5140, Michelle Hackett #5388, and Gary Nelson #4932. Virgil walked a beat with Arne McGinnis #2285, and together they became known as the "Dynamic Duo."

Arne McGinnis #2285 had transferred to the South Precinct and told Virgil to join him as his right-hand person. This is where Virgil started his FTO legacy. Students reported Virgil to be "the best FTO in the department. Many credit Virgil's FTO style as to why they became an FTO. One officer shared that you could be laughing with Virgil, and in a split second, things were real!  These were the times Virgil would say, "Police work is eight hours and 45 mins of boredom and 15 minutes of complete chaos".

Sometime in 1997, Virgil was assigned to work alongside Donn Mills #2728 in the FTO Coordinator's Office. In 1999, Virgil filled the vacancy when Donn retired and spent the next 14 years in this role. He and Bob Sealey, a Renton PD Officer, would travel the States putting on week-long training for the respective agencies' new Field Training Officers.

Virgil retired in 2015 and will forever be known for his laughter, his love of family and friends, and the passion he shared in being a cop.
Virgil is survived by his loving wife of 40 years, Miriam, and their son, James Patrick.

Dale Douglass #2159, Retired Seattle Police Major, passed away on Monday, October 24, 2022, at 87 years of age.

Dale was born and raised in Napa, California. After graduating High School, he went on to earn his AA Degree then enlisted in the US Coast Guard. He worked on a Casco Class Cutter which was a weather reporting ship in the Pacific Ocean.

Dale was hired on October 2, 1961, and joined Class #44, along with Don Vert #2168 Jerry Jorve #2197, Lee Benjamin #2174, Jim Taggart #2207, and Jerry Trettevik #2155 to mention a few.

Dale’s first promotion was on March 3, 1967, as the Sergeant of the Technical Services Bureau. There, Dale, David Dalrymple #2012 and John D. Nicholls, a King County Officer, created an electronic warrant data system ensuring all surrounding agencies warrants were verifiable, this system was called SeaKing, the local forerunner to NCIC, that the Department used for many years.

On January 1, 1969, Dale was promoted to Lieutenant and assigned to the Inspections Bureau. He would manage the data processing and records staff. On June 4, 1973, Dale was promoted to Precinct Captain of the South Precinct.

On October 16, 1980, Dale was promoted to Major and was assigned to the Inspectional Services Bureau. A story shared to this day, in the 1982 Annual Report, a Sergeant had misspelled Dale’s last name. When Captain Fred Hill #3299 came to talk to the Sgt, the Sgt replied, “If Major Douglass can’t take a joke then he can…” Yep, you guessed it. Dale was standing directly behind the Sergeant!

Dale and Carole were married in 1986 with Dale’s best friend, W. Alton Terry #2243, as his best man. In the Mid to late 1980’s Dale was assigned to the Special Operations Section, he oversaw the Metropolitan and Traffic Sections which included Harbor, Mounted, SPU/ERT, Canine, PEO, AM/PM Traffic Squad, DWI Squad and Motorcycle Units.

When the city was selected as the host city for the “Goodwill Games”, Dale was appointed as the Chairman of the Law Enforcement Joint Forces Coordinating Committee. He immediately assembled a leadership team, which first priority was to assemble a team under the leadership of Lieutenant Joanne Hunt #3979. The Goodwill Games were a huge success. Dale went on to coordinate the Rodney King protests in 1991 as well as the unprecedented APEC (Asian Pacific Economic Conf.) Conference, with multiple venues and 19 dignitaries in attendance.

Dale retired after 33 years of service on March 21, 1995. He continued to work at his Mailbox’s n’more store in the Newcastle area. He had bought the store about 10 years prior and enjoyed helping customers. The store and all franchises were bought by UPS, you now know them as the UPS Store.

Dale is survived by his wife of 36 years Carole and his daughters Debbie and Kim.

I worked under Major Douglass and as I was writing this, I fondly recalled seeing him walking up hill from 3rd and Cherry at lunch time, often he had a fresh bag of hot buttered popcorn in one hand, (bought almost daily at the outdoor food court by Seattle Metropolitan Credit Union) or his wife Carole’s hand in the other.

George Stablein #2534 retired Seattle police officer, passed away on October 17th, 2022, at eighty years of age.
George was born and raised in the Phinney Ridge neighborhood of Seattle often mentioning that he lived so close to the Woodlawn Park Zoo that he often would wake up to the animals roaring and making noise.

George graduated from Lincoln High School in 1965 and started working for the City of Seattle as a sewer installer. He was putting in sewer lines throughout the city and decided to become a police officer.  

On January 31, 1966, George was hired as a Seattle Police Officer and entered Academy Class #50 alongside Rudy Sutlovich #2544, Phil Forsell #2323, JP Krachunis #2538, Jerry Taylor #2533 and Mike Patrick #2516 to name a few.

George was drafted into the Army Security Agency (ASA), this agency was composed primarily of soldiers with the very highest scores on Army intelligence tests, the ASA was tasked with monitoring and interpreting military communications of the Soviet Union and Japan. The ASA was directly subordinate to the National Security Agency. George’s MOU was Morse Code Interceptor Operator, SP4. When they handed him his official ID, his job was listed as “Polish Teacher”. He didn’t know one word of Polish. He was stationed in Japan and later returned to the Seattle Police Department.

George was a rule follower to the letter. During patrol one early morning, he pulled over a milk truck for being overweight. The driver had a full load of milk onboard but George knew the law and had the milk truck towed. For years at the annual banquet, people would laugh with George over this incident. He always took it in great stride. George walked a foot beat as well but that became difficult when he started to have some medical issues. George retired for disability after 12 years of service, on September 21, 1978.

After retirement, George went to work for a rare coins and stamps business. He would buy and sell coins, stamps, and gems. During one of these shows he purchased a sapphire gem. His wife Carol now wears the sapphire ring every day.
In late 1992, George met Carol, who lived in the same apartment complex in Mesa, Arizona. She brought him a pot of soup, he said thank you and closed the door. A day later he returned the clean pot, asking if he could take her to dinner, six months later they were engaged. They were married soon after.

George and Carol moved to Chandler, Arizona where George was an active member of the Masonic Lodge. He worked as the Office Manager for 13 years and was a 3rd Degree Master Mason. He was elected as Grand Secretary of Arizona and held that position for 11 years. Groups of other Mason’s would get together and travel throughout the US, even venturing into Europe to see Paris and London.  

After 26 years, they moved to Massachusetts to be close to other family members. 

George is survived by his wife Carol, his son George Jr and daughter Lenee’, and four grandchildren.

Roy Burt #2574, Retired Seattle Police Patrol Officer, passed away on Thursday, September 29, 2022, at 86 years of age. 

Roy was born and raised in Issaquah. He graduated, married his high school sweetheart Judith, and joined the Navy in 1955.  He served aboard the USS Plunger, USS Catfish and USS Razorback submarines. Judith passed away and Roy married Carolyn in 1964.

Roy was hired by SPD on May 5, 1966, graduating from Academy Class #51 on November 11, 1966, along with fellow classmates Dave Severence #2381, Mike Chartrand #2556, Fred Kilmer #2573, Eldon Doty #2588, and Dave Malland #2553 to name a few.

Roy was promoted to Detective on March 26, 1973 and was assigned to the Burglary Unit. Being an active runner, Roy joined the Snohomish Track Club, and he established his “Moving Legs” company. In 1973, Roy joined the US Coast Guard Reserve and performed Port Security missions.  In 1985, he married Linda and retired on October 16, 1986, after 20 years of service. Roy comes from a family of SPD officers including. His Uncle, Vernon Burt #473 and his cousin, Retired Lieutenant Owen Burt #3562.

Roy loved his family greatly always cheering them on in all their activities. Biking, Singing, playing the Ukulele, Roy was the life of the party and the first one on the dance floor. He loved to laugh and organize trips for family and friends including the Seattle to Portland ride and several camping trips on Hood Canal. He inspired many to keep moving and be passionate about life.

After retirement, Roy took to construction and remodeling for family and friends. That still wasn’t enough to do, so he joined the Silent Service Motorcycle Club (SSMC) and the US Submarine Veterans. He took great pride in serving his fellow veterans and representing these groups on his “Horse” a three-wheeler, he fondly named “Trigger”.

In 2019, Roy moved to Coeur d’Alene, Idaho.  On September 29, 2022, Roy passed away following a motorcycle accident.  He was predeceased by his wives Judith and Carolyn, daughters Heidi and Tamara and brother Frank. He is survived by his five children, Cornell, Orion, Noel, Emma, and Kiana, five grandchildren and sister Jean. 

Greg Zatrine #4974, retired Seattle Police Patrol Officer, passed away on Thursday, September 29, 2022 at 65 years of age.

Greg was born and raised in Ferndale, Washington. During High School he was a full back on the football team, he also discovered his appreciation for gardening while working on the farms harvesting pea vines.  After graduation, Greg worked in construction, landscaping and on a nearby farm.

With the encouragement of his Mom, Greg set off to make his dream of becoming a police officer come true.  He was hired on December 2, 1985 as a Parking Enforcement Officer. He later became a police officer and was assigned to the West Precinct.
In mid-1988, Greg was partnered with Bill Moran #5243. Bill and Greg had a few jokes up their sleeves to keep the unit spirits up. Greg loved to pull jokes, silly things like turning their lockers upside down or switching on the squad car lights and siren when they were eating in a restaurant. With an extra key to a patrol car you could turn on the lights/siren switch but they didn’t activate until the officer came back and started the car, this completely startled the returning officers.

Greg was ready for a change of pace, so when the West Precinct Clerk started talking about retirement, Greg put in for the job. Greg was content and enjoyed helping the citizens who came to the counter, he felt he was able to help more people in the lobby then he could all day in Patrol.

Greg retired on September 13, 2012, after 27 years of service.  Greg is described as having old time family values, a big guy with a big heart, who enjoyed making others laugh. He enjoyed road trips in the car and on his motorcycle, on one spontaneous trip he ventured through seven states in five days. He traveled to Europe, visiting Germany, Switzerland, France, Austria and Spain.

Greg is predeceased by his dad, Homer, Greg is survived by his mother, Ardis, sisters Barbara, Nell and Janelle, and his brother Eric.

Eric M. Norberg #2605, Retired Seattle Police Detective Sergeant passed away on September 20, 2022, at 77 years of age. 

Eric was born and raised in Seattle and attended Ingraham High school, Eric played the clarinet in the school marching band. The marching band and orchestra were given the honor of marching in the Victoria Day Parade, so the teams boarded the Princess Marguerite. While on the ship, a young woman named Gayle watched on as Eric played poker with another student.  Gayle spotted Eric cheating and gave him the “I saw that” look. They started dating a year later, graduated, and later were married on March 12, 1966. Eric studied for and took the exam with Seattle PD and had shipped off to Keesler Air Force Base in Biloxi, MS to Radio Relay and Electronics School.

Seattle PD held Eric’s cadet status until he returned and started academy class #55, graduating on May 28, 1968, along with Jerry Wyant (A fellow Ingraham HS graduate and friend who was killed in the line of duty on October 26, 1976), Tommy Knight #2821 and Al O’Brien #2720 and others.

Eric was assigned to Patrol North Precinct. One night during the riots, Eric was hit in the chest with by catapulted brick. He had a lifelong injury to his torso. On Feb 24, 1970, Eric with Mike Bolger #2966 as his partner, were patrolling the area of 57th and Greenlake Way due to numerous burglaries and car prowls. A car in front of them, with three occupants, were acting suspicious. Once they pulled over the car, Mike asked to see the ID and registration, a volley of gunfire happened and the three suspects were able to escape, they were identified and later sentenced to 7 ½ years in prison for 1st degree assault with intent.

On January 1, 1972, Eric was promoted to Detective and assigned to the Accident Investigation Squad (AIS). The work was methodical and meticulous.  On July 10, 1992, Eric was promoted to Detective Sergeant and continued his tenor in AIS. Scenes were reconstructed using tape measures and baseline or polar coordinates after which the detective’s would sit and draw the accident scene. Eric felt fortunate to have worked with fellow AIS members Lt. Andy Tooke #4713, Paul Edwards #4321, Dick Chapman #3542, Jack Boyer #2490, Casey Sundin #4236, Lt. Chris Kolar #3141, Craig Vold #3294, and Don Ledbetter #5299, to mention a few. 

Eric needed a change and looked to the FFFE – Fraud and Financial Exploitation Unit. He was always a learner and found the financial world to be an interesting and eye-opening experience. He loved a good puzzle! After about four years in this unit, Eric retired on June 2, 2004, with 37 years of service.

About a month before Eric passed, we ended up in a lengthy conversation, eventually talking about the day that Mt. St. Helens erupted. Eric shared that he was immediately activated in the Air National Guard. Eric shared some tragedies and difficulties of the rescue/recovery efforts, most impressive the efforts by the helicopter and pilot mechanics and crew of the Air National Guard. They were all working 24/7, changing out the engines every six hours due to the ash. You could hear his pride as he told me that engines had to be flown in from all over the US and Canada.  Eric was assigned as Radio Relay along with his squad from Camp Murray, a second squad came from Boeing field. Together, the two squads, relayed information back and forth to helicopters and plane pilots. Eric wouldn’t take any kudo’s when I said what a great job he and his crew must have done, he immediately referred any accolades to the mechanics, crews and pilots stating that they were heroes. Eric was decorated with a distinguished service medal. After 24 years of service, Eric retired from the Air National Guard as Master Sergeant.

Eric was predeceased by his daughter Joanne and is survived by his wife of 56 years, Gayle, their daughters Theresa, Heather, and Erica; 12 grandchildren and 5 great grandchildren.

George Sorensen #1863, Retired Seattle Police Patrol Officer, passed away on Monday, September 19, 2022, at 89 years of age.

George was born and raised in Chicago. His family moved here, to be with other family members when he was a young boy. In school, George loved to draw and draft various items such as boats. George graduated from West Seattle High School and started working for Boeing as a Drafter. He married his high school sweetheart Jean.

From early on, George wanted to be a police officer. His neighbor in Chicago was a police officer and George loved talking with him and hearing his stories. George was hired on September 2, 1958. He was assigned to enter academy class #39 along with Major Ray Carroll #1230, Major Beryl Thompson #1833, Donna Brazel #1618, and Joe Sanford #1896 to name a few.

George was assigned to King Sector; he had a foot beat in Pioneer Square and later the Belltown area according to Lt. Jerry Taylor #2533.  As a student officer, Denise Bouldin #4381 was assigned to George as her FTO. A few days into the assignment, they got a call about lewd behavior at a club on 1st Ave. The club wanted a patrol patron removed, George and Denise searched the building, a loud crashing noise above them got them to look up in time to watch a half-dressed patron fall through the ceiling, landing right in front of them. George just looked at her and said as a matter of fact, “let’s book him.”

Others recalled that George really enjoyed people, that he was a good patrol officer and a lot of energy. Even after working all night, he would challenge other officers to a racquetball game or two at the YMCA. George is remembered as treating everyone as equal, no matter if a suspect or fellow officer.

Around 1980, George started Sorensen Marine in West Seattle. He had created a boat, like a Boston Whaler, known as “Sorensen”.

On May 2, 1983, after 24 years of service, George retired for service. However, you could still find him working at Sorensen Marine, alongside his son until 2001 when he officially retired.

George is survived by his wife of 67 years, Jean; their children Tim and Theresa, four grandchildren and 5 great grandchildren.  

Charlie C. Villagracia #4431, Retired Seattle Police Patrol Officer, passed away on September 19, 2022, at 67 years of age.

Charlie was born in the Philippines. His family moved to Washington State when he was six years old and grew up in the Lakewood area. Charlie was a pole vaulter in High school and graduated from Clover Park High. He immediately entered the US Marine Corps; his MOU was Staff Sergeant Mortar. He travelled throughout the world and was a rifle and pistol expert.

Upon his release from the Marine Corps, a friend introduced Charlie to Adela. During this same time, Charlie was applying to Seattle PD. Charlie was hired on May 13, 1980, and in June 1980, he married Adela. On July 30, 1980, Charlie graduated from Academy Class #124, along with Larry Cotten #4425, Gene McNaughton #4430, Jim Rodriguez #4432, Deb Brooks # 4438, to name a few.

Sometime in about 1982, Charlie was in the Gang Unit and assigned by Lt. Al Gerdes #2738 to partner up with a Seattle Public School Liaison George Nakauye (a Seattle Reserve Officer) on a DOJ grant for a Gang Intervention in Unit. Charlie and George fostered relationships with kids in schools and throughout the city and surrounding cities. At one point, the two used their own money to rent a facility for the kids to learn and practice martial arts just to keep them off the streets.

On March 17, 1994, a student at Ballard High School was shot and killed by a drive by shooter, two other students were wounded. Charlie got a call from a youth, stating the 23rd Street Diablo’s were responsible. Charlie contacted the shooter, who stated he would turn himself in if it would be to Charlie to arrest him. Charlie was able to negotiate the surrender peacefully and arrest the suspect.

Charlie loved his family, his job, and the kids he coached pole vaulting to in the Tacoma School District. Multiple people mentioned Charlie as a “gadget guy” and that he was quite literally a walking Swiss Army Knife with all the tools he wore on his belt and suspenders. Charlie was well known in many communities, he donated hundreds of volunteer hours, including to the Pista sa Nayon, a Filipino festival held at Seward Park during Seafair.

Charlie retired on October 31, 2018, after 38 years of service. He left his family with the lifelong knowledge to always treat people with the benefit of the doubt, listen to both sides of a story so you don’t become narrow minded, to be open and quick to listen and slow to speak.

Charlie is survived by his wife of 42 years, Adela, son Charles Jr, daughters Jeanette and Jade as well as 5 grandchildren.

Charles E. “Charlie” Mittmann #2125, Retired Seattle Police Officer, passed away on Friday, September 9, 2022, at 86 years of age.

Charlie was born and raised in the Chicago, Illinois. By the time he was 11 years old, the family moved to Kitsap County. After graduating from Kitsap High School, he began working for the Washington State Patrol as a Dispatcher. Charlie’s brother John, a Washington State Trooper had been encouraging Charlie to apply to become a Police Officer.

Charlie and his wife Jolene had been living in Lake Forest Park when Charlie was hired on June 26, 1961, just in time for the 1962 World’s Fair. He was assigned to academy Class #43, which also included Duane Homan #22138, Dale Schenck #2137, Don Yeowell #2162 to name a few. It was common to have supervised basketball games during academy training. One of those games resulted in Charlie and Doral Mittness #2126 colliding into one another, breaking two of Charlie’s front teeth and knocking him unconscious. That didn’t stop Charlie though, he was up and playing almost immediately and won that game!

After graduating the academy, Charlie was assigned to Patrol. On April 15, 1967, Charlie was assigned to the Motorcycle Unit along another academy mate, Bill Noon #2135. Charlie was driving into work one morning with Sgt J.J. Hill #2143 when the bike hit a patch of ice on the I-5 onramp which resulted in a lifelong knee problem for Charlie.

Charlie had previously served in the US Air Force and his love of flying never diminished. On April 1, 1972, Charlie became part of the Harbor/Air Patrol as a Helicopter Observer, he had many flights alongside Pilot Don Potter #1507. On December 4, 1972, Charlie was assigned back to the Training Unit at the Academy. He loved to teach just as much as he loved to fly. It was September 4, 1972, that Charlie went back to Harbor/Air Patrol and started his flight school to become a pilot. On January 8, 1975, Charlie was officially assigned as a Helicopter Pilot to the Harbor/Air Patrol. Charlie had started his training with single engines, then multi engine, turbo props and he also earned his helicopter rating. Shortly after this assignment, the Air Patrol of SPD was disbanded, and Charlie was transferred back to the Academy once again. After 17 years of service Charlie retired on July 14, 1978.

After retirement, Charlie flew for Cascade Airways, which was a commuter airline based in Lewiston, Idaho. He wanted to be with his family daily and this job required him to be gone a couple days at a time. He reached out to his friends at Galvin Flying Services at Boeing Field and became the general manager there for a while prior to going to work for Federal Express as a courier.

Charlie had many hobbies but the house in Lake Forest Park was small. It did not have a garage to build his model train set or model planes that he loved to work on, let alone to display these treasures. Friends convinced Jolene and Charlie to buy some property on Camano Island. After 50 years in the same house, they packed up and moved to live the Island life.

Charlie passed away on September 9, 2022. He was predeceased by his son Eric and is survived by his loving wife of 62 years Jolene, their children Shannon, Stacy, Shelly, and Angela as well as six grandchildren and two great grandchildren.

Pilar Curtis #4733, Retired Seattle Police Detective, and spouse of retired Seattle Police Detective Randy Curtis #5482 passed away Sunday, August 21, 2022, at 58 years of age.

Pilar was born in New Orleans, LA. Her family moved to the Seattle area in her youth.  Pilar was bitten with the law enforcement bug when she enrolled in the school crossing guard program.  From there Pilar enthusiastically joined the Seattle Police Explorer unit, gaining the rank of Lieutenant. She worked alongside her brother and Rich Pruitt #5346 and Eric Michl #4494. 

Pilar graduated from Holy Names Academy and went straight to work at Seattle PD as a 911 radio dispatcher, she, and Debbie Powers Cepeda #4732 were hired on the same day. “P” as some of us affectionately called her, spent some time in radio before she applied and transferred to the Homicide unit working as the Administrative Assistant on the night shift.

Pilar decided she wanted to become a Police Officer and set her sights on reaching that goal. She graduated from Academy class #446 in October 1996, along with another civilian turned officer Donna Stangeland #4949. After graduation, Pilar was assigned to the East Precinct, where she worked under Sergeant Don MacMillan #2836. A few short years later, Pilar was promoted to Detective and joined the Domestic Violence Unit. Pilar had a clear passion for Domestic Violence victims’ rights and worked diligently on every case she was assigned.  Every case was important to Pilar!

Some of Pilar’s many talents included making jewelry and fired clay figurines for each season or holiday. She was, many times, contracted from a family to provide hundreds of these adorable creations in a short period of time. This hobby was how Pilar financed both of her son’s private school.  She was a talented baker and was known for her yearly cookies distribution tradition to officers working the Torchlight Parade.

In 1999, Pilar met Bomb Squad Detective Randy Curtis #5482. They were working a mutual case together and became friends. Pilar mentioned to Randy one day “whatever you do, never date anyone on the department!” and Randy took it to heart and never asked her on a date. Later, Pilar asked Randy if he would like to go to coffee. Randy replied …” but not on a date, right?!”  They both agreed while laughing. They married in 2004 and began a life of adventure together. Traveling the world was a passion for Pilar. This included 16 cruises on the Disney Cruise Line, through the Baltics, Mediterranean and the Caribbean. In 2009, a trip to Hawaii brought forth Pilar’s passion for scuba diving. By 2011, she became a certified scuba rescue diver, a difficult certification to complete

In 2016, Pilar and Randy both retired and moved to Florida where they continued to enjoy many adventures. Pilar also continued her jewelry and craft business.

Pilar is survived by her husband Randy, her two sons, Nicholas and Thomas, siblings Maria, Jim, and Mark as well as her sister-in-law Karen and nephew Curtis. 

Dick Sherwood #2902, Retired Seattle Police Sergeant Detective, passed away Thursday, August 18, 2022, a few days after his 82nd birthday. Dick was hired on April 30, 1968 and retired after 28 years of service on December 29, 1995.

Dick grew up in Minneapolis, Minnesota. After High School Graduation he moved to Seattle and worked at a Chidgey’s Music Center in West Seattle. Dick was an avid player of the clarinet, his favorite instrument, and the piano by which he played by ear.

In 1963, Dick married Tammy and started his family, his son John and daughter Kim were born. It was a police sergeant friend in Minnesota who convinced Dick he should go test with Seattle PD and on April 30, 1968, Dick was in Academy Class #56, alongside many including John Nordlund #2909, Jerry Smith #2876, Ty Sheffey #2883, John Reynolds #2889, and Mark Gilbert #2919.

Dick loved the Georgetown Precinct and served as a Patrol Officer several years prior to entering the Traffic Enforcement Unit. When Gary Wilson #3063 arrived at the Special Enforcement Unit in Traffic, they became fast friends worked many details, events and SeaFair together. Dick is credited with helping Gary to become a distinguished Expert, as well as others.

In 1980, Dick married his high school sweetheart Jeanne.

Dick moved from Special Enforcement to Motorcycles on August 11, 1982. Nine days after entering the Traffic unit Dick had a serious motorcycle crash on his way to work security for the movie “War Games” which was being filmed in Seattle. In 1987, Dick was proud to see his daughter, Kim Romero #5123 become a Parking Enforcement Officer for the Department. In 1989, Dick was promoted to Detective and just over a year later was again promoted to the rank of Sergeant. On August 3, 1992, Dick was assigned to the Decentralized Burglary Theft West Detective Unit and after 27 years of service, Dick retired on December 29, 1995.

During retirement, Dick and Jeanne travelled the United States in their Airstream. They loved to camp, explore new areas, and make friends wherever they landed. Dick was an avid golfer. You would often find Dick on the golf course after the monthly and weekly meetings at Jackson Park Golf Course or the Nile. He played in the Annual Golf Tournament with Dan Oliver #3127, John Nordlund #2909, Dale Schenck #2137 and Sean O’Kinsella #2076.

Dick belonged to many organizations, one of them was the Shurtah. This group formed in the 1960’s and is dedicated to current and retired officers. This group met at the Nile. Dick, along with Dan Melton #2711, John Guich #3267, Jerry Smith #2876, and Joe Sanford #1896 were instrumental in relocating the RSPOA meetings to the Nile after the Elks in Lake City closed in approximately 2010. Dick had served as the High Shirvee of the organization previously. Another love of Dick’s was helping John Reynolds #2889 to organize the Academy Class Reunions.

Dick passed away on August 18, 2022, and was predeceased by Jeanne, who passed in 2021. Dick is survived by his son John; Daughter Kim, six grandkids, two great granddaughters.

Donald E. Berg # 941, retired Seattle Police Lieutenant passed away peacefully on Friday, August 12, 2022 at 96 years old.

Don was born in Long Prarie, Minnesota on May 3, 1926. Don’s family moved to Seattle when he was seven years old. He attended Lincoln High School. In 1944, when Don was a Junior in High School he left to serve in the US Navy. He was onboard the USS Takelma, a supply ship in the Pacific Region and then completed his High School Diploma in 1947. 

Don was hired by Seattle PD on August 1, 1948 and was almost immediately was assigned to the Motorcycle Unit where he spent the next six years. Don was promoted to Sergeant on April 4, 1962. He spent approximately six years in patrol before going back to the Traffic unit where In 1968, 

Don and his squad were assigned to escort King Oval V of Norway during his Seattle leg of a nationwide tour.

On May 14, 1970, Don was promoted to Lieutenant and stayed with the Traffic Unit. Don was active with the SPD Motorcycle Drill Team from 1966 through 1973, and served as the Drill Master and Captain. 

In 1971, Don married Joan “Jo” and they moved to their lake home at Lake Roesiger. On July 31, 1978,

Don retired for service and he enjoyed entertaining friends and family, as well as building his four car garage workshop. He loved to sail his 26’ Sailboat on Lake Washington or into the San Juan Island’s. He was a true craftsman who loved to build and repair anything. 

Don and Jo travelled the United States, and into Australia, Israel, South America and Denmark. Eventually, they moved to Sun City West, Arizona where they continued to entertain family and friends all year round to play golf, swim or just relax and enjoy the sunshine. Don always felt fortunate to have surpassed his 30 year working career; he was into his 44th year of retirement when he passed away. 

Don was predeceased by his wife Jo and son, Kevin Hawkins. Don is survived by his daughter Sharon, Sons Kermit, Steven and Bruce.

Deana F. Karst – Jarrett #4195, previously a Seattle police patrol officer and detective died August 1, 2022, at sixty-nine years of age.

Deana grew up in the Pacific Northwest and was hired as a Seattle police officer on February 23, 1979. Deana worked Patrol in the East Precinct where she eventually became an FTO. Fellow officers described her as "an exceptional officer who was able to make quick, concise and accurate judgment calls all while treating people with kindness and care yet being no nonsense fair". In the early 1990's Deana was promoted to Detective and was assigned to the Burglary/Theft Unit.

Deana was a car enthusiast. She owned a Shelby Mustang convertible at one time. One story a fellow retiree shared, while he worked his first watch shift, he would make sure his patrol car was clean, waxed, etc when time allowed. Deana would come on her third watch shift and use his car because he kept it so clean. He described her as witty, with a great sense of humor who held her own when needed. Deana left the department in 1998, later working for the TSA.

She is survived by her daughter Cassie.

Hans Marx #2612, Retired Seattle Police Detective, passed away on Monday, August 1, 2022, at 79 years of age. Hans was born and raised in Baltimore, Maryland. His family was in the middle of preparing to move to the Seattle area when Hans was drafted into the Army where his MOS was Military Police Officer. For a short time after the Army, Hans was also a Merchant Marine.

On September 19, 1966, Hans was hired by the Seattle Police Department. Two years later, he went into the Traffic Unit on Motorcycles and became a member of the SPD Motorcycle Drill Team. Hans is quoted as saying “it was his most favorite assignment” in which his academy classmate, Class 52, Dave Ritter #2373, agrees as they both ended up in Traffic together as well. Hans loved to travel but hated to fly. It is thought by many that Hans met his wife June on an airplane, as she was a flight attendant for United. In 1973, with Gordie Barnett #2561 as his Best Man, Hans married June. They eventually made their home in the Tacoma area.

On September 5, 1973, Hans returned to Patrol and later, was promoted to Detective on March 21, 1983. His new assignment in the Check & Forgery Squad. Hans’ desk was adjacent to Bob Japar #3251, another avid golfer. Benny DePalmo #2682 found out that Hans golfed (he was a bogie golfer) and went about introducing him to Duane Lewis #3305, Manny Washington #4078, Polygrapher Doug Vaughn #3962, thus created a bi-annual golfing tradition to Dungeness which also including Dave Ritter and Bob Japar. Golf is also where Hans got the nickname “Ozone” as you had to watch out when it was Hans up to swing, because he would not watch out for anyone.

Hans enjoyed starting his day at his desk with a newspaper and coffee. He would buy a Lotto ticket on Tuesday night and on Wednesday morning he would stop to pick up the winning numbers on his way into work. One day, Hans opened the paper to compare his tickets numbers to the winning numbers and yelled out to Bob Japar that he won the Lottery! Hans was winded and so excited that Bob came over to congratulate him and ended up having to tell him that he was comparing the newspapers winning numbers not to his own purchased lotto ticket but to the printout of the winning numbers ticket he picked up at his local 7-Eleven that morning! There have been many laughs about this event through the years. On January 2, 1993, after 27 years of service, Hans retired.

In 2005, June retired and five years later, after being diagnosed terminal, she left instructions for Hans as to her final arrangements. Hans was to travel and spread her cremains in Sedona, Hawaii, the Caribbean and finally to come home to American Lake. She didn’t want him staying at home and this way she knew he would leave the house and start living again. June was right, and Hans continued to travel for fun, friendships, and golf.

Hans took to traveling on cruises and one adventure got him stuck in the Minneapolis airport for a few hours. In a lobby area, he noticed a late teens/young adult woman crying near him. He went and struck up a conversation with her. It turned out she had left home and intended to start a new life but realized that wouldn’t work out so well, so she was going to go back home. Hans and she kept in touch and talked on the phone and emailed. Hans realized this young lady had little support but all he saw was tremendous value in her, her ambitions, and abilities, that she just needed a little help. Hans decided to gift her a no strings attached education and provided her tuition to not only put her through college but to also obtain her teaching certificate!

Per Hans wishes, he asked that any last ring be short, sweet and to the point. I hope this doesn’t disappoint him too much. He was a rare and unique man who once you got to know him was a kind, most appreciative, and generous man. He deeply cared about each of his friends, enough to stay in touch with them by phone once a week up through the date of his passing.

Hans is survived by his sister Marlene, and his nieces Lisa and Jennifer.

Gordie Barnett #2561, retired Seattle Police Detective, passed away early July 21,2022 at 79 years of age.  Gordie was hired on March 16, 1966, and retired for service on March 31, 1993 after 27 years of service.

Gordy was born in Minneapolis, Minnesota. When he was five years old his family moved to the north end of Seattle. He attended Lincoln High School, graduating in 1960. Immediately after finishing school he enlisted in the Army. He served with the 5th Special Forces until January 1, 1966. Then he returned to Seattle and got a job with Safeway grocery stores for two months while his application to the Seattle Police Department was processed. He was hired on March 16, 1966. Five months later he attended Academy Class 51. Some of his classmates were Dave Severance #2381, Bill Herbert #2364, Mike Chartrand #2556, Dick Zottman #2577, John Pederson #2597, Fred Kilmer #2573, Dave Malland #2553 and Paul Meyer #2560. One year after the academy, Gordy was assigned to solos. He joined the Motorcycle Drill Team. All of the team members he rode with have passed away except his academy classmates Dick Zottman and Dave Ritter #2373. During his time on bikes, Gordy finished up his active Army Reserve obligations which ended in late 1969. Traffic was one of the Departments lead elements for riot duty in the late 1960’s through 1974. One night while on standby for riot duty, the traffic division officers were in the traffic locker room by the Patrol Major’s office in the old PSB playing Tonk Rummy (Patrol played Pinochle). Gordy opened the locker room door and threw in a string of large firecrackers. The officers thought the rioters had breached the Central Precinct. They scrambled out of the room and as the smoke cleared they encountered Major Schultheis #450 who was steaming. Smoke appeared to be coming out his ears. He was not impressed with Gordy’s prank. That is when Gordy left Traffic to go Patrol. His first partner in Wallingford on 2nd Watch was Dick Rovig #1920, another escapee off of bikes. They worked for Eric Johnson #1395 and later for Craig Vandeputte #2246 another of his motorcycle drill teammates. Gordy stayed north until 1975 when he went to the Tac Squad to work for Dave Ritter who was now a sergeant. After three years, Gordy made detective and was assigned to VICE. He brought his prankster talent to his new job. The VICE captain was Don Daniels #1879 who had been on bikes with Gordy in the late 1960’s. A young female cub reporter just out of college came to VICE to interview Don in his office about the vital work VICE was doing to stem sex crimes. Before she arrived, Gordy taped a full center spread photo from “Hustler” porno magazine on the back of Don’s office door.  When the reporter sat for the interview, her back was to the doorway. As Don began the interview Gordy closed the door. Now Don was staring at the disgusting full nude picture, hoping the reporter would not turn around. Eventually Don made up an excuse about how hot the room was getting and quickly got up and opened the door, so the photo was no longer visible. The reporter went away none the wiser.

In 1980, John Sullivan was reelected SPOG president. He appointed Dick Rovig and Gordy as co-editors of the Guardian. They were assisted by Don MacMillan #2836 and Ken Jakobsen #2963. Gordy wrote many articles for the paper. His favorite topics were the Indy 500 and Formula 1 Racing. We learned a lot about these car sports – more than we wanted.

In 1983, he moved to Robbery to work for Dave Ritter. While in Robbery in 1989, Gordy was appointed to the senior editor position for the union paper. When not taking shots at the brass or the politicians, he wrote about all the car racing events he visited.

On April 8, 1989, Gordy got married. Geri wanted a child so he got his sports model reconverted back to a family model. Low and behold, he was a daddy again – baby daughter Shelby was born. He was very busy on the home front as an older father. In March 1992, the Rodney King riots and demonstrations took place across the nation. Seattle had a demonstration downtown during regular business hours. It began to get out of control so Chief Fitzsimons considered reinforcing the patrol units with detectives. He scheduled a briefing in the PSB’s 5th floor show up room for all the investigative supervisors. Gordy was there as an acting sergeant. He was angry by the way the demonstrators had been handled with kid gloves. While waiting for the Chief to arrive for the briefing, Gordy harangued the room into a frenzy to go out and teach the rioters a lesson. By the time Fitzsimons finally arrived, he could not get a word in edgewise because everyone was yelling “turn us loose. We’ll show them”. He eventually gave up trying. Then CID Major Yumul #2226 quieted the group saying, “I think what the Chief is trying to say is there is no way he is going to put you out to commit mayhem and law enforcement”. Fitzsimons mumbled his acquiescence and everyone went back to their assignments grumbling all the way. One year later, Gordy retired for service after 27 years.

He had a very busy life in retirement. He worked for both the Mariners and Seahawks and was a contract employee with the Jefferson County Sheriff’s office working cold cases. He coached his daughters’ basketball and volleyball teams. He travelled all over the world to see Formula 1 races. With “JJ” Hill #2143 and Dave Ritter, he went on motorcycle rides into Mexico. He also rode with the Blue Knights. He was a member of RAP, RSPOA and the Port Townsend Elks. And he was cofounder with “JJ” and Mel Medford, a retired sheriff, of the Congress of Retired Police and Sheriffs Etc. (CORPSE), which has over 300 members.

Gordy is survived by his wife of 33 years, Geri, two daughters Rebecca and Shelby and son Daniel. No grandchildren but he has seven grand pets, 3 dogs and 4 cats.

Greg Frank Seth #3369, retired Seattle Police Detective passed away on July 18, 2022, at the age of 75.

Greg was born in Mountain Grove, Missouri. He grew up in Springfield, Missouri where his father Frank was a policeman. Greg was called “Little Frankie” by his family to honor his father and also his grandfather Frank who had been a deputy marshal in Arizona. Greg attended Hillcrest High School where he played football and was on the swim team. He graduated in 1964. At this time his dad became a railroad detective and had to move the family so Greg joined the Navy. His MOS was “aviation ordinance specialist”. He served four years. When his enlistment was up, he returned to Missouri and got a job with McDonald Douglas making aircraft parts. Having seen other parts of the country, he no longer liked his home state’s heat and humidity. He decided to become a police officer but in another state. He had a friend who was a pilot that was building up his flight hours so flew all over the U.S. Greg hitched charity rides from him to explore cities and their police departments. He chose Seattle and the SPD. It took three such trips to complete the hiring process. Then Greg drove to Seattle in an old pickup with his German Shepard dog next to him pulling a horse trailer with a mare and her colt. He got stuck in a snowstorm crossing the mountains. But he eventually arrived in Seattle reporting for duty on April 10, 1970. Ten days later he was attending Academy Class 64. Some of his classmates were Bob Christopherson #3349, George LeVasseur #3364, Bob Martinson #3379, Mike Crist #3389, Jim Lundin #3392 and Jack Coddington #3364. After the six-month academy, Greg who still liked going by his middle name “Frank” but not “Little Frankie”, was assigned to the Central Precinct 3rd watch relief working for Jerry Taylor #2533. Greg…. aka “Frank” was teamed up with Nils Seth #2803, who was the son of lieutenant Austin Seth #405. It turned out they were distant cousins. The two Seths were a very aggressive team. In less than a year they made 145 DWI arrests. The defense attorneys could not keep straight which Seth did what processing the arrests. Soon the residents on “the Hill” began requesting radio to send the “Seth and Seth car” to their call. This happened so frequently that the brass told the two to stop giving out their names. Greg began attending UPS before shifts on VA and LEEP funding, earning his BA in Criminal Justice. In class and filling out class papers it was too confusing to continue going by his middle name, so he started calling himself Greg. Besides, the girls liked the name Greg better than Frank.

In 1974, he became one of the dog handlers in the new K9 unit. His first dog Captain Nemo was killed in the line of duty pursuing a suspect out into traffic where he was struck by a car. Greg’s next dog was Justice. One shift the two stopped four young men causing a disturbance while drinking in public in Ballard. Greg was interviewing and identifying the four while Justice stood by. When radio broadcasted a “help the officer” on Aurora Avenue, Greg threw the group their identification and yelled you are free to go. Then he jumped in his car roaring to the call. After the “help the officer” incident was resolved, he realized he had forgotten Justice back in Ballard. So Greg drove red light and siren back to Ballard to retrieve his dog. There was Justice still on guard watching the four guys. Greg asked, “why are you still here?” They replied, “we tried leaving but your dog would growl and stop us so we waited, hoping you would return.” Greg and Justice worked together for several years. He would put his head next to Gregs right ear and bark incessantly. After almost ten years of this, Greg became hard of hearing. Even though he was honored as “K9 handler of the year” several times and had a rapport with his dog, he decided to transfer to another unit to save what remained of his hearing. He was loaned to “H and R” in late 1984. Then the Department transferred him to Checks and Forgery as a detective working for Phil Forsell #2323. Later he was assigned to the Arson Detail with Chris Wrede #4294. All during his career, Greg worked off duty at sporting events, Kingdome flat shows, Seattle Center rock concerts and at his steady moonlighting job – the Queen Anne QFC store. In 1995, the wear and tear of his on-duty injuries i.e. being dragged while caught in a car door, a suspect driving a car hit Greg while attempting to escape, a retaining wall collapsing on him as he ran along it and fights to restrain combative suspects, caused him to retire on May 10, 1995, after twenty-five years on the job at 49 years of age.

He did not quit working. He got a job with the Highline School District working for Dan Woelke #3072. Greg worked there until he was 65 in 2015. His wife Jeanette, whom he married in 2012, told him he needed hobbies now that he was no longer employed. Greg loved horses but had not owned one since 1974. He decided he was too old to ride one with his back condition, so he rescued a 120-pound German Shepard named Thor to train. They were pals for the next seven years. He started hunting for upland birds with his son Shane and grandson Isaac. He also attended his other grandchildren’s sporting and extra-curricular activities.

Greg is survived by his wife Jeanette, daughters Kim #6054 (a retired Seattle Police Officer) and Tiffany, sons Jerrod (an Everett P.D. detective), Shane and Don and ten grandchildren.

Marnie Oslin #2822, Retired Sergeant, passed away on Wednesday, July 6, 2022, at 87 years of age. Marnie was hired on December 11, 1967, and retired on June 16, 1990 after 22 years of service.

Marnie was born in Seattle. She attended Lincoln High School graduating in 1954. Then she attended college for two years earning an AA degree before joining the workforce. She worked for various employers before going to Boeing. After ten years at these other employers, she decided to work for the City of Seattle. Her first job with the city was at the Treasury Department. Three years later she applied to the Police Department and was hired on December 11, 1967 as a “Policewoman” assigned to Juvenile handling runaways. Fifteen months later when her probation was up, she was assigned to Academy Class 58. She was the oldest recruit in the class. Some of her classmates were Birdie DeWaard #3032, Marilyn McLaughlin #3016, Mike Brasfield #3020, Kerry Guynn #3019, Frank Kampsen #2769, Mike Broyles #2865 and Tim Hubbard #2925. After graduation in May 1969, she returned to Juvenile. A few months later, her classification was changed to police officer so she was made a detective on January 1, 1970. Now she was transferred to Property Crimes for the next eight years. At the end of 1978, she was promoted to sergeant. She remained in CID until September 1, 1985. Then she was transferred to Patrol in the north end on 2nd Watch to work for Denny Zuminsky #2245. On December 12, 1989, while responding to screen a narcotics arrest for Phil Rees #6890, Marnie was ambushed. The suspect was an Irish Setter that was chasing a cat and ran full speed into Marnie as she got out of her prowl car. She was knocked to the ground severely injuring her right wrist and right hand. The dog continued its pursuit of the cat. Marnie finished her shift but over the next few weeks the injuries did not heal. In fact they got worse. After physical therapy and a couple of surgeries, she still had limited strength and mobility in her right arm. She could not handle her duty weapon and had trouble driving a car. She tried to return to full duty but had to retire on June 16, 1990, with 22 years of service on the police department plus three other years from her prior position with the city.

In retirement Marnie and her husband Raymond lived in Lake Forest Park until he passed away. Then her son Robin moved in with her. She is survived by her son Robin and daughters Kristin and Tamara.

Mike Nelson #3365, retired Seattle Police Vice Sergeant, passed away on July 4, 2022, at the age of 75.

Mike was born in the Georgetown neighborhood. Then his family moved to Beacon Hill. He attended St. George Elementary and O’Dea High. In high school he played football, basketball and golf. Shortly after graduating in 1965, he was drafted into the Army. His MOS was Military Police. When his obligation was up, he enlisted for another two years and was assigned to CID. He was posted to Italy where he worked directly with the Italian Carabinieris. He also played on their soccer team for two years.

He left the Army in late 1969 returning to Seattle. He got a job in a meat market learning to be a butcher. At night, he attended Seattle University on the GI Bill. He was not really interested in cutting meat all day long, so he applied to the police department. He was hired on the SPD on April 10, 1970, just missing the “prior act” cutoff. Ten days later he was attending Academy Class 64 with Dayle Markus #3396, Mike Balser #3393, Steve Kirkland #3356, Gary Lysne #2864 and Greg Seth #3369. Mike was sent to 1st Watch Georgetown after the six-month academy. He went back to Seattle University to complete his B.A. Degree in Criminal Justice over the next few years. He also got married about this time and had son John. A couple of years later, Mike became a single dad raising John by himself. Mike stayed on 1st watch working “the Valley” and South Park because it was compatible with his parenting duties. Later he became the 1st watch clerk. In 1983, he transferred to Training in the Advance Unit. He and his old high school friend, Ron Rispoli #3649 were inservice trainers. Mike’s academy mate Gary Lysne was the BAC and driving instructor. After three years of instructing veteran officers and changing curriculums due to political pressures, Mike switched to the Basic Training side which was more structured teaching recruits. One hot summer day, the Training Captain was looking for Ron. They were on the department bowling team together. This captain had a reputation for being long winded. Ron saw the captain first and ditched into Mike’s office saying “I’m going to hide in the desk well. If the captain comes in asking for me, tell him I am at driver’s training. I don’t have time for long conversations”. Sure enough, as Ron ducked under the desk into the well, the captain arrived asking for Ron. Mike replied, “he’s not here”. As the captain turned to leave, Mike began asking numerous questions about the bowling season. The captain talked for about 45 minutes, then departed. Ron emerged from under the desk well saying, “Thanks a lot. Your office is a sauna. I was getting cramps and dizzy. What if I passed out or had to get out?” Mike just chuckled and replied, “that’s what happens when you duck out on your captain and teammate”.

Mike was a good all-around athlete. He took up playing A League (semi-pro) softball with Andy Bottin #3999 and Jim Leudeke #2780. They played in national tournaments in Las Vegas. During the tourney, they had a pool for who hit the first home run. The prize was a coupon to the Mustang Ranch. Andy hit the homer and an unnamed teammate asked him “what are you going to do with the coupon”. Andy said, “I don’t like horses and don’t know how to ride them” and gave the coupon to the unnamed player. Mike made sure everyone heard about Andy’s generosity for years. They played softball together for years. Either on club teams or for the department’s “Old Blues” baseball team.

Mike made sergeant in 1988 and for the next year he worked both the East and South Precincts. He continued to moonlight at the Westwood QFC and at sporting events because he now had his daughter Anne to support. In late 1989, he was transferred to Vice for the next six years. Then in 1995, he moved to South Decentralized Detective. This allowed him to be close to Jefferson, his home golf course. Mike claimed to be the best 15 handicapper on the department. He was known to have two GHIN cards. One for casual play and one for tournament competition – a sandbagger. He was an avid golfer. For all of his off-duty work and participating in sports, he never missed any of his daughter’s school or extra-curricular activities. During his ten years in the Decentralized Detectives, he mentored many young detectives. He retired in 2005 with 35 years of service.

In retirement he became more health conscious making sure he consumed his daily amount of “Vitamin R” and daily walks on golf courses. He moved to Tucson where he continued to play a lot of golf. He won several local course association championships at Saddle Brook Golf Course. He also continued to freshwater fish. He always owned a boat.

Mike is survived by his son and best friend John, daughter Anne, four grandchildren, sister Geri and nephew Zac.

Jim Tagart #2207, retired Seattle Police Sergeant and Chief of Police for Mount Vernon Police Department, passed away on May 22, 2022, at the age of 83.

Jim was born in Seattle and grew up in the Ballard neighborhood. He attended Ballard High where he played football and baseball. He met his high school sweetheart, Marilyn there. Upon graduation, he joined the Navy and served on the submarine the USS Catfish. On leave he married Marilyn in 1958. When his 3-year enlistment was up he transferred into the Navy Reserve and later the Coast Guard Reserve. They returned to Seattle and Jim got a job with Seattle Transit for a year driving bus. He noticed that the Seattle Police Department was hiring for the up-and-coming World’s Fair Century 21, so he applied. He was hired on December 18, 1961, as a provisional patrolman. Three weeks later on January 2, 1962, he was in Academy Class 44. Some of his classmates were Gerry Trettevik #2155, Paul Knapp #2160, Al Baird #2164, Roy Wedlund #2154, Dan Cameron #2192, Roy Skagen #2204, Gerry Jorve #2197 and LeRoy Habryle #2199. After graduation he worked patrol in the Central Precinct for two years. Then he went to solos for three years joining the Motorcycle Drill Team. In 1967, he returned to patrol and was assigned to the Special Squad with Dale Schenck #2137. The two played on the Department’s baseball team against other city teams. Jim even snookered Dale into assisting him coach a high school baseball team. When Dale agreed, Jim quickly resigned leaving Dale to be the head coach. Dale, in shock, told the school to fire him. The school replied they had no grounds to fire. He replied, “You have to sack me because no self-respecting coach quits, they are fired.” The school refused to fire and Dale refused to quit. So he ended up coaching the team for the next ten years. While Dale was coach and working patrol, Jim went to the Detectives for two years before being promoted to sergeant on October 14, 1971. A year later he was sent to Vice for two years. His next assignment was patrol for eight months. Then back to the Detectives, this time Narcotics for two years. In late 1977, the City of Mount Vernon recruited him to be their Chief of Police. Jim accepted the job, so he had to leave the SPD on November 10, 1977, after sixteen years of service.

While he was the Chief, due to staffing shortages, Jim would occasionally work the street. One day a “220” walked into a jewelry store causing a disturbance. Jim responded. He tried to coach the “220” out of the premise. It didn’t work. The fight was on and by the time the suspect was subdued, every display case was smashed with jewelry laying on the floor. The suspect was sent back to asylum, Jim injured his back and went to the doctor and the store proprietor went to his insurance broker crying, “I shouldn’t have called the cops.” This back injury forced Jim to retire.

Jim went to work for various employers to supplement his LEOFF retirement. They were Ideal Cement Company, Group Health and the Marysville School District. Marilyn and Jim lived on Flowing Lake. They entertained their extended family and friends on the lake with pontoon boating and other water activities. They also hosted many large BBQ’s and holiday dinners.

Jim was preceded in death by grandson Matt. He is survived by his wife of 64 years, Marilyn, daughter Jan and sons Jim and Jeff, and two grandchildren Mike and Mary.

Frances “Frank” Jones, #1885, Retired Seattle Police Captain, passed away this morning, May 18, 2022 at 88 years of age.  Frank was hired on January 2, 1959 and retired after 24 years of service on December 30, 1983. 

Frank was born in Kalispell, Montana on August 5, 1933. His father was a traveling minister which meant the family moved frequently. When he was 15 the family moved to Washington for two years. When he was a high school junior, his dad went on a missionary mission. So Frank moved in with family friends in Greenleaf, Idaho to live working on their farm earning his board and keep. He attended Greenleaf Friends Academy during his junior and senior years. In the fall of 1950, he enrolled in George Fox University at Newberg, Oregon. He attended for two years. Then the Korean War broke out causing him to feel a call to duty. So he joined the Marines. After basic and advanced combat training, he was assigned to a motor squad in the 1st division and sent to Korea. Eventually he became assigned to the regimental chaplain toward the end of his tour. Frank was discharged in early 1955 while posted in California. That year he met his wife, Marie. They got married on July 1, 1955, in Los Angeles. Two of their children, Jeffrey and Regina were born over the next two years. In 1958, the family moved up to Seattle. Frank applied to the Seattle Police Department. While his application and background were processed his daughter Kathleen was born. Frank drove bus for Seattle Transit during this year.

On January 2, 1959, the department hired him. Three days later Frank was attending Academy Class 39. A few of his classmates were Joe Cordas #1878, Lynn Coney #1858, Joe Tolliver #1901, Tom Caldwell #1847, Cary Parkes #1895, Beryl Thompson #1833 and Joe Sandford #1896. On June 10, 1961, Frank was on patrol in Chinatown with another academy classmate Russ Stallman #1899. Radio dispatched them to a murder scene at 12th and Jackson. A storekeeper had been shot: the suspect’s description was broadcasted. On the way to the scene they encountered the suspect – Elmer Hardy, a sparing partner of Sonny Liston. A firefight erupted; Hardy shot up the prowl car. Russ and Frank shot up Hardy hitting him three times in the forehead, in the arm and in his side. But the Departments under powered rounds basically just gave him a headache, numbed his arm and gave him a side ache. He was taken into custody and tried for murder. Five months later Frank transferred to solos for five years. He joined the Motorcycle Drill Team. He always said this was his favorite job on the Department. In 1966, he went to the Detectives. First to Burglary then Vice. On January 1, 1969, he was promoted to sergeant. He went to work for Smokey Wesselius #997 at Wallingford. Later he gave Frank the assignment to start up a safety unit. He recruited Harvey Olson #1893 to help him. Over the next couple of years the program reduced on duty accidents by 44%. He made lieutenant in 1975 and stayed North as the 1st Watch Commander while continuing to oversee the safety unit. In the late 1970’s he was moved to Narcotics. Then to Traffic where he stayed until January 2, 1981, when he was promoted. His first assignment as a captain was the Metro section. After a year he returned to the North Precinct for his last two years. He retired in January 1984 after twenty-five years of service.

Frank remained very active in retirement. He became head of the Ballard Eagles and drove tour buses all over Alaska. In the off-season, he hired six fellow retired officers including Marty Spotanske #1534 to drive newly manufactured buses from North Dakota to Fairbanks, Alaska. The convoy took five days to complete the trip. During these years Frank and Don Compton #1189 bought 20 acres in Montana. Frank built a summer log cabin all by himself from trees he cut down. In 1992, his first wife Marie died. After her passing he became a long-haul trucker until his knees and back bothered him. In 1996, he married his second wife, Kathleen, a secretary at Boggle and Gates Law Firm. At this time he got a job with the US Marshals guarding the old Federal Building. When he retired from this job, Kathleen and Frank moved from Ballard to Port Angeles. Kathleen passed away on June 19, 2019.

Frank was preceded in death by his wives Marie and Kathleen and four children, 2-year-old baby Mike, son Jeff and two daughters Marilyn and Marcia. He is survived by two daughters Regina and Kathleen and several grandchildren.

Jerry Wabschall #3074, Retired Patrol Sergeant, passed away last night, May 18, 2022 at 75 years of age. Jerry was hired on December 1, 1970 and retired on August 4, 1996 after 26 years of service. 

Jerry was born in North Dakota. When he was a toddler, his family moved to Hood River, OR. There his father started a grocery store. Within a few years the store grew to a chain of three. Jerry started working in the stores when he was in the 7th grade. By the time he attended Hood River High, he was almost a full-time employee. Hence, he did not have time for extracurricular school activities. Jerry graduated from high school in 1964. When he turned 18, he joined the Army. After training, he was posted in Korea for several months. Then he was sent to Vietnam for two years with the 5th Special Forces. He earned several decorations resulting from his combat experiences. Unfortunately, he lost his younger brother Archie who was killed in Vietnam. Jerry had to identify his brothers remains. When Jerry’s enlistment was up he returned to Oregon.

 He went to work back at his dad stores while attending business college. He became tired of the grocery business, so he went to work for Sherman Williams Paint company. He became a manager in one of its retail outlets. Again, he got bored, so he moved to Seattle and applied to the Police Department.

 He was hired on March 18th, 1969. Three months later, he was assigned to Academy Class 59. Some of his classmates were John Bernasconi #3113, Les Yeager #2436, Mike Severance #2866, Joe Bouffiou #3047, Ed Marcus #3083, and Mike Lorenzo #3044. After the Academy, Jerry was assigned to the Central Precinct where he teamed up with Jim Deschane #2624. They worked together for a couple of years and played practical jokes on one another. One Christmas, Jim bought a barnyard rooster and put it in a gift wrap box and gave it to Jerry. When Jerry opened the box out jumped the bird. What can you do with the rooster in a condo? You throw it out on your balcony hoping the cold weather kills it. It survived and at dawn it began waking up the entire condo. After several morning’s reveilles Jerry decided to get rid of the bird. Jerry loaded the bird into his Datsun Z. The bird got out of its box flapped around squawking and crapping all over the inside of the sports car. It cost Jerry $5 for the butcher and $100 to detail the car's interior. As a follow up, Jim bought a recording of different species bird calls. Some of the sounds were obnoxious, especially one with a descending low pitch whistle. Jim put the cassette in a recorder. Then gift wrapped it for Jerry. When he began to unwrap the package, the motion activated the recorder causing the whistling to start. Jerry immediately threw the package through Jim's apartment window, yelled “bomb” and threw himself on the floor. While cleaning up the broken glass they decided to call a practical joke truce. When Deschane went to the detectives Jerry stayed in the Central Precinct then transferred South. During this time, he used his VA benefits to take flight lessons. He eventually earned his multi engine rating and became a FAA approved instructor. He resigned from the department in 1979 to teach flying and sell real estate. Nine months later, due to Jimmy Carter stagflation, he returned to the department. He was reassigned to the Central Precinct, Second Watch relief working with Ed Marcus, his Academy mate. Over the next two years, Jerry became a hostage negotiator, a FTO and a married man.

One shift he injured both knees when a driver hit Jerry's door as he was getting into his prowl car. He was crushed between the door and the frame. A few months later, he was rear-ended, violently, pushing his knees against the dashboard. A year after that he reinjured his knee assisting fire at a water rescue. He had to pull the drowning man over a retaining wall causing the knees to be jammed against the wall. Jerry decided his knees needed a break from the street so he transferred to the Academy for two years teaching patrol procedures. In 1988 he was promoted to Sergeant and sent to the East Precinct. He joined two other new Sergeants, Rolf town #3955 and Gordy Van Rooey #3065. All working for Jim Pryor #3701. Jim had a reputation as being meticulous. One night Jerry bought two teriyaki chicken and rice dinners. He told Rolfe, we're going to talk to the Lieutenant in his office while we eat. Be sure to keep your mouth full while talking. All the time they were talking they were sputtering food on the desk, Jim was becoming more and more annoyed. When Jerry gave a humungous burp, spewing chewed food everywhere, Jim had enough and yelled “you two get out of my office.” Then he ordered Gordie to stand guard while he began to clean up the work area. As Jerry walked out he whispered to Rolf, “victory”. Jerry's next assignment was Vice. He stayed there for almost three years. He brought in Mike Nolan #4903  to Street Vice. Jerry's last assignment was patrol in the South precinct. By now his knees were so bad that he set his retirement on August 4th, 1996 after 25 years of service.

 In retirement he worked many kinds of jobs: long haul trucker, sold farm equipment, jewelry and siding. He worked at Semi Tool and Applied Material in Montana and was the head of security at Kalispell mall. He felt he could work or do anything until boredom set in then it was time to change occupations. He even bred dogs. His favorite breed was boxers. Carol and Jerry went on frequent RV trips around the central states and the Southwest states. They also loved to cruise. They went on about thirty of them all over the world. In fact, they spent ten days cruising the Caribbean just weeks before Jerry passed. Jerry is survived by his wife, of 40 years Carol, daughter Roxanne, sons Archie, Scott and Robert, six grandchildren and two great grandchildren. 

Duane Lewis #3305, retired Seattle Police Detective, passed away May 17, 2022 at 75 years of age. Duane was hired on January 2, 1970 and retired after 25 years of service on January 11, 1995. 

Duane was born in Tillamook, Oregon. His father was career Navy. When Duane was five years old his dad was transferred to Hawaii. The family lived in the base housing for the next seven years. When Duane turned thirteen his family moved to Seattle. He attended Franklin High. He started boxing, dreaming about turning pro but after two broken hands decided to start other sports like football and weightlifting. He graduated from Franklin in 1964. Within a few months he enlisted in the Marines, serving in Vietnam from 1966 into 1967. When his tour was up, he returned to Seattle where he worked for the following companies: S & W Fine Foods, Massart Heating and Plumbing and as a bartender at the Empire Way Tavern. In 1969, he applied to the Seattle Police Department.

He was hired on January 2, 1970. He was assigned to Academy Class 62 at Providence Heights in Issaquah. After his six months of training, he was sent to East Central 1st watch to work George 3 with Dan Stokke #3240. After two years both Dan and Duane (the Buffalo Twins was their nickname) got the opportunity to go to Narcotics on loan from Patrol to work for Joe Sanford #1896 as UC buyers. In late 1974, Duane transferred to the TAC squad. There he and Dick Hybak #3204 teamed up for the next five years. Then they got caught up in management’s mandatory patrol transfer program to improve their potential for upward mobility. They were sent to Georgetown 3rd watch – what a career developer! They patrolled West Seattle and the Valley. One year later, Duane was recruited to go back to Narcotics as a detective. His sergeant this time was Benny Depalmo #2682. Duane partnered up with Milo Walker #2957. One night Duane stopped a WSU football tackle who was about 6’5” tall and 270 pounds. He had an outstanding assault warrant. He refused to be arrested and started to resist. Well, Duane with his new “Kel lite” hit the suspect, knocking him out cold. During the court trial, Duane admitted to striking the suspect with a flashlight. The defense attorney said, “You mean a flashlight could knock out my big client?” “Kel lites” were brand new on the market so he was unaware of it. So, Duane replied, “I had Eveready Energizer batteries in it. They carry a heavy charge.” The defense rested; defendant found guilty.

On March 11, 1983, while serving narcotics warrant on Capitol Hill, Duane was the first detective through the door. As he ran down the hallway, suspect Carl Eugene White, Jr. shot Duane in the back at close range with a 357. The bullet went through him barely missing his heart, deflating his lung, and then exiting his chest. It took six months for Duane to get well enough to return to duty status. Suspect White was convicted and only served a few months for the shooting. This incident caused the narcotics detectives to wear bullet proof vests while serving warrants. When Duane returned to the office, he was more cautious, but he kept his deep sense of humor. One shift, Dan Bryant #3965 wore his Marine flight jacket while riding into work on his motorcycle. He hung the jacket up and changed into his street clothes. Duane took the flight jacket and taped a raunchy full spread photo from a porno magazine onto it. When the shift was over Dan put on his jacket and rode off to his favorite “all night stop and rob” to buy beer. As he walked around the store, the customers stared. Dan thought, “I must be really cool looking riding my bike while wearing my Tom Cruise flight jacket.” When he arrived home and took off his jacket, he realized they were not staring at a cool super stud but a weird porno nut. He never went back to the 7-Eleven to shop. However, Milo, Dan Bryant and Dan Stokke got even with Duane for all his jokes. They had a picture of the squad’s river rafting trip that showed him naked and peeing in the river. They put the picture in the PSB’s third floor lunchroom’s vending machine. They removed the $3.00 bowl of noodles from its slot and inserted the photo. A lot of departmental employees including his future wife, Ronda #4652 saw the photo as they bought snacks. Ronda let Duane know. It cost him $3.00 to ransom the photo from the vending machine. It must have enjoyed displaying his picture instead of the stale food.

Duane stayed in Narcotics until 1989 when he was loaned to Training for six months to help Ken Conder #4077 teach defensive tactics. In 1990, he transferred back to patrol for three years. Then in 1994 he went back to the detectives in the Fugitive Unit. About this time, he began to experience nerve pain and muscles seizures due to the permanent gunshot injuries. He still had nine bullet fragments in his chest close to the heart that had to be checked regularly for any migration towards vital organs. He reluctantly retired on January 11, 1995, after 25 years of service.

Like many retirees, he did not just sit down. For 10 years he worked for Connie and Fred (#3104) Still refinishing cruise ship decks – hard, dirty work. He travelled all over the world to work on Holland America ships in port before their next cruise. Larry Miller #3128 and John Carlson #2956 worked with Duane. On the side he remodeled homes and worked security transporting jewelry and securities. He also did personal security. During these years he married Ronda in 2001. In 2012, they moved to Arizona spending their time golfing, going to Pilates classes, traveling across the southwest states, Florida, and the Dakotas. They enjoyed cruising to Alaska, through the Panama Canal and around the Mediterranean. And Duane even found time to be the US Marines League Quartermaster for the Toys for Tots program.

Duane is survived by his wife of 21 years, Ronda, four daughters and seven grandchildren.

Stan Schumacher #2672, retired Seattle Police Lieutenant, passed away on May 14, 2022, at the age of 81.

Stan was born and grew up in Bayard, Nebraska, population 1,000. He was raised by a single father who later remarried. So Stan, in his teen years, got a stepmother. He attended Bayard High participating in football, track and baseball. He graduated in 1958. After high school he enlisted in the Air Force for four years. His MOS was Air Police. One of his postings was on a South Korean island north of the 38th parallel close enough to North Korea that the communist troops would shine lights on Stan and his squad members as they patrolled during the night shift. Stans last posting was at Rapid City, South Dakota. It was there he met his wife, Ardyce. They got married in March 1962. Stans military tour ended in December. The family left for Seattle. He found a job with a manufacturing company which lasted two years. Then he was hired by Lynnwood Police in early 1964. Stan liked police work but wanted to work for a larger agency. Thus, he applied to both the State Patrol and Seattle PD. The Lynnwood chief was not happy with Stan shopping for another agency. Stan’s approved vacation was cancelled. So Stan quit and went to work for Troy Laundry for eight months while the State Patrol and Seattle processed his application. The Department finished first and hired him on February 7, 1967. He attended Academy Class 53. Some of his Academy mates were Mike Germann #2714, Dan Melton #2711, Al Sorensen #2709, Pat Lamphere #2687 and Larry Farrar #2360. The class graduated in late 1967. Stan was assigned to Wallingford 3rd watch. He and Bob Jackson #2057 partnered up for several years.

Stan was promoted to sergeant on September 21, 1982 and was transferred to the West Precinct’s 1st watch. He stayed there even when promoted to lieutenant on April 24, 1985. After two years as shift commander he was assigned to Communications to work for Bob Nelson #3212 for the next twelve months. Then in early 1988 he was transferred to Personnel to be the Wellness and Injury Lieutenant. Stan’s wife Ardyce was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis back at the time he was promoted to sergeant. Her health continued to deteriorate over the following eight years. While Stan was in this new assignment, it became obvious he had to choose between being a police officer or becoming a full-time care giver. His wife was his love, thus he retired on September 30, 1990, to take care of her.

In retirement, Ardyce and Stan could not travel much but did take trips to Reno and Hawaii. She passed away on July 23, 2006. Afterward, Stan became really involved in the hobby of Metal Detecting. He travelled all over, even Ireland (where he found old Roman coins) to prospect for old coins and jewelry. His favorite spot to prospect was West Seattle’s old Luna Park - the amusement park at the northern tip of Alki, built on pilings. It operated from 1909 to 1913. Another of his activities was getting together with his friend of forty years Don Matthews #3076, who he had worked with, to watch football and to go to lunch. In 2015, Stan remarried to Joyce Koorn, a widow and family friend for many many years, in fact Ardyce’s best friend.

Stan’s wife of 34 years, Ardyce, and one grandchild preceded him in death. He is survived by his son Jim, daughter Susan, six grandchildren, his second wife of seven years, Joyce, and her adult children Ed, Cathy and Colleen.

Dave Sorenson #3441, retired Seattle Police Detective, passed away on Monday, April 25, 2022 at 79 years of age.  Dave was hired on July 17, 1970 and retired on February 21, 1981.

Dave was born in Ely, Nevada. When he was four months old his family moved to the greater Seattle area. He attended Bothell High. He took part in football, pole vaulting and the high school ROTC program. He graduated in 1961. He continued the reserve obligation until 1968. His MOS was combat photography. In 1965, Dave moved to Costa Mesa, California to work for the police department, first as a crime scene photographer then as a patrolman and later as a detective. In 1969, he moved back to Washington to be a Bellevue police officer for a year while applying to the Seattle Police Department. He was hired on the Department on July 17, 1970. Three days later he was assigned to Academy Class 65. Some of his classmates were Bill Lamphere #3451, Lee Libby #3437, Randy Tibbs #3471, “CJ” Zentner #3435, Don Skaar #2768 and Drew Dowd #3447. Because of Dave’s prior experience in Costa Mesa and in Bellevue, the Department sent him to Narcotics after only a year on the street. He was the youngest officer to become a detective. There he worked for Joe Sanford #1896. Joe assigned Dave to partner with Larry Stewart #2420. They made a lot of good arrests. Dick LeMoine #3453 was another one of Dave’s academy mates that they often used to make buys to freshen up their probable cause to get warrants. Bill Lamphere also followed Dave into Narcotics. Both lived on Bainbridge Island where Dave built a home in 1975. When Bill married Pat, Dave was their best man. Dave stayed in Narcotics for eight years. On August 20, 1980, while walking on the notorious “G” deck after filing a case, he slipped on a puddle of oil seriously injuring his back and right hip. He fought to recuperate but was unable to make it back to duty status. He retired on February 20, 1981.

He joined George LeVasseur #3364, another retired officer, to work private detective cases. However, about this time, Dave became a partner in the VanCo company selling commercial recreational equipment to municipalities and school districts. There he met his wife Joanne in 1984. They built a summer home in Lake Chelan in 1986. When the company was bought in 1990, they moved permanently to Chelan for the next eight years. They eventually got tired of the cold winters so in 2000 they moved to a condominium on a golf course on the island of Hawaii. When not golfing or captaining his tourist licensed fishing boat, he worked security for Dan Engle #2777 at the Kona airport after the 9-11 attack. Dave helped Dan and Jan #2388 build their new home. In 2005, wanderlust again struck Joanne and Dave. They moved back to Chelan and built another home. Jerry Trettevik #2155 helped sheet rock the place. This time, to escape the snowy winters, they bought a house in Sun City West, Arizona to snowbird. It became their permanent home from 2009 to 2014. In 2014, they sold the Arizona house and moved to Port Ludlow to their forever home. They golfed, bowled, rode bikes, RV’d across the gulf states and into Mexico and cruised the San Juans for the next several years.

Daughter Robin preceded Dave in death. He is survived by his wife of 38 years, Joanne, daughters Lisa and Angela, son Jeb, seven grandchildren and one great grandchild.

Marc Olson #4256, retired Seattle Police Lieutenant, passed away on April 19, 2022, at the age of 64.

Marc was born in Tacoma, Washington. He grew up in its University Place neighborhood. He attended Curtis High. During his sophomore year he joined the Tacoma Police Department’s Explorer Post. He recruited his friend Greg Pote #4257 to join the program. Marc also became a member of Curtis High’s Rifle Team and competed until graduation. To earn money during his school years he worked at A & W as a cook. This job paid his tuition at Fort Steilacoom Community College where he earned an AA in Law Enforcement. Upon turning 21 years of age, he became a reserve deputy for Pierce County. A few months later he got a paying position as a provisional officer for the City of Pacific. Being a reserve deputy and a provisional officer allowed time for Marc to attend Central Washington University where he graduated with a BA in Law and Justice. Now he and his long-time friend Greg applied to the Seattle Police Department. They were hired on the same day and assigned together to Academy Class 115. Their academy lasted six months followed by a four-month student officer period under the training and supervision of FTO’s. When their training was finished, Marc was assigned to the South Precinct for a year and then he was transferred to the West Precinct’s 2nd Watch Relief Squad. He stayed in the relief squad to be Greg’s partner. They worked together until Marc was promoted to sergeant. As a patrol supervisor, he was moved three times to East Precinct, then back West and finally to the North Precinct. While working there he was promoted to lieutenant. He was allowed to stay north as the 1st watch commander. This allowed him plenty of time for his favorite activity – fishing on the sound. He also made frequent trips to Alaska to fish. When Cindy Caldwell Miller #4064 became the North Precinct Captain, she asked Marc to be the Ops lieutenant. He agreed but unfortunately this job cut into his fishing opportunities. In 2001, he was transferred to headquarters for a few years to work an administrative assignment. Then he left to go to Investigations for two years. In 2010, Marc got his dream assignment commanding the Harbor Patrol Unit. He loved the boats. He retired in 2015 after thirty-six years of service.

In retirement he had plenty of time go to boating and fishing. But such is life, other activities interfered. Marc landed a job on the City of Brier Planning Commission. Later he was elected to the Brier City Council where he now lived. He did find time to attend RAP and RSPOA regularly with his life-long friend Greg.

Marc is survived by his daughter Marsha and son Jon, parents Marlys and Ted Olson and his loyal companion Augustus – “the dog he never wanted.”

Doug Dills #3326, Retired Seattle Police Captain, passed away on Wednesday, April 13, 2022 at 79 years of age. Doug was hired on January 6, 1970 and retired on January 16, 1998 after 28 years of service.

Doug was born in Vancouver, Washington. His family moved frequently so when they moved to Fife, he attended Fife High School. He played football there all three years. His class graduated in 1960. In 1961, the family moved to San Francisco, California. Doug worked at various jobs while going to school. He avoided the draft by unsuccessfully trying to enlist in the Navy, but his flat feet kept him out. In 1966 he successfully enlisted in the regular Army for three years. After training he was assigned to the 173rd Airborne Brigade. He did two tours in Vietnam. His enlistment ended in 1969. After which he moved to Seattle and got a job working security at the Greyhound Bus depot. He was encouraged by several officers moonlighting at the depot to apply to the Department. He did and was hired on January 6, 1970. He attended Academy Class 66. After the six months of training he was assigned to 1st watch Georgetown. His squad mates in Robert sector were Emmett Kelsie #2794, Dale Drain #2967, John Mason #2884 and Les Yeager #2436 for the next four years. During this time he went to Bellevue Community College, then Northwest College and finally earning his B.A. from Seattle University in the spring of 1973. On June 15, 1973, he married his wife, Renee. In 1975 he transferred to the Investigation Bureau. First to Central Burglary, then to South Burglary. Both units were housed in the old PSB. While a detective, Doug became active in the Guild. First serving on the Board of Directors, next as Secretary/Treasurer and then became the Vice President. In December 1979, he was promoted to sergeant and assigned to Georgetown 2nd watch for a year. Seven months later he was appointed Guild President because Mike Patrick stepped down to run for state legislature. The next year he was transferred to West Precinct 2nd watch to be closer to the SPOG office in the Bitterman Building at 4th and Jefferson. The brass noticed Doug’s writing abilities in his monthly president column in the Guardian, so he was transferred to Advanced Training to develop an oral and written business communication course for all departmental ranks and positions. During one class he made a mistake by ending a sentence with a dangling participle. Nick Bulpin #2185 corrected Doug. He asked Nick “How do you know, where were you educated?”. Nick replied, “Parochial school, Blessed Sacrament”. Doug replied, “Okay, you are right so excused from the course!”. This assignment made being Guild President very difficult, so he stepped down in January 1982. Dick Rovig #1920 replaced him as President. A year later Doug was promoted to lieutenant. From 1983 through 1985 he worked as a patrol lieutenant in the new East Precinct, then in the Budget and Policy section. Then for the next four years, Chief of Police Fitzsimons made Doug his aide. In 1989 he was promoted to captain assigned to Property Crimes Investigation for two years. He got to attend the FBI academy. The next two years he was the North Precinct captain. He had a long commute because his home was in Port Orchard. It seemed like he was on a daily emergency run to make the Fauntleroy Ferry. Doug’s final assignment was Director of Training, Audit and Procedure section. When Chief of Police Stamper scheduled a management retreat for his executive managers and up and coming new captains, he left Doug in charge for a week as the acting COP overseeing the old guard captains. He dutifully held the weekly chief’s staff meeting. As he called the meeting to order, he put on a Mouseketeer cap, and promptly adjourned the gathering. Doug’s hearing was deteriorating due to his military service, motorcycle riding and qualifications without ear protection. It got so bad that he retired after 28 years of service on January 16, 1998.

In retirement Doug and Renee moved to Billings, Montana in late 1998 so she could be closer to her sister and their oldest daughter Amanda. Doug got a job with an armored car security company transporting money and securities. Renee got a job with a real estate escrow company. On the side they bought homes and condos to remodel and flip. They also bought a home in Mesa, Arizona to fix up and snowbird during the cold winters. Doug became quite the woodworker and handyman. In 2012, their daughter Amanda moved to the Spokane area. They followed her. The family residence is at Liberty Lake.

Doug is survived by his wife of 48 years, Renee, two daughters Amanda and Nicole and two grandchildren.

David Buff #3481, Retired Seattle Police Patrol Officer, passed away on Saturday, April 9, 2022 at 84 years of age. Dave was hired on September 25, 1970 and retired for service on September 26, 1993 after 23 years working in the  South Precinct his entire career. Per David’s wishes, there will not be a service. 

Dave was born in Los Angeles, California. He lived there until he was seven years old. Then the family moved to Enumclaw, Washington onto a dairy farm. Dave helped his father with the family farm chores. At Enumclaw High he played football and participated in various school plays. He enjoyed acting. He graduated in 1958 and immediately enrolled at Western Washington College. In his senior year he ran out of funds, so he moved to Honolulu, Hawaii. There he got a job with the Honolulu Advertiser daily paper as a typographer. During his off-work hours Dave acted in several community plays. In 1966 he had a small part in the movie “Hawaii” that starred Julie Andrews. The movie was based on the James Michener novel. That same year Dave married his wife, Deborah. They could not afford to buy a house in Honolulu. So two years later they moved to Auburn, Washington. Dave got a job with the Seattle Times as a typographer. This occupation was being taken over by automation and Dave saw the handwriting on the wall. After two years he left the Times and came to work at the Seattle Police Department. He was assigned to Georgetown until he was assigned to Academy Class 66. He was the oldest class member. After completing his training he was sent back south where he worked 1st watch with John Mason #2884, Dale Drain #2967 and Les Yeager #2436. Dave stayed south his entire career except for a short time in the mid 1970’s when the Department mandatorily transferred patrolmen with 5 to 10 years longevity to other precincts or shifts to develop their careers. Dave went to the Central Precinct 1st watch for a couple of months before managing to work his way back to Georgetown. He worked 1st watch for 20 years. This allowed him to work off duty at the Seattle Center events and the King Dome sporting events and flat shows. In 1990, he was transferred to 3rd watch. This reduced his ability to moonlight. However, he had saved enough extra job money that when he and Deborah rented out their home, they could afford to buy a 72-foot tugboat. Which was moored in the Tacoma Harbor. They lived on it for the next four years. Dave’s last job on the Department was driving the 3rd watch prisoner van. He retired on September 25, 1993, after 23 years of service.

During his first two years of retirement, Dave worked keeping the tugboat shipshape. Then they decided to sell it and move back to their Auburn home. There he began major landscaping of the yard improving it over the years. He also began building very complex vintage wooden ship models. Some models took up to two years to complete.

Dave is survived by his wife of 55 years, Deborah, daughter Heather, son Adam and three grandchildren.

Rand Hannon #2719, retired Seattle Police Patrol Officer passed away on March 25, 2022 at 77 years of age.

Rand was born and raised in Olympia, Washington. He attended Olympia High where he was the lead yell king. His fellow students nicknamed him “the Bear”. His class graduated in 1962. Right after leaving high school Rand got a job selling used cars. To supplement his commissions he joined the Army Reserves. He attended Centralia Community College. In January 1967, he moved to Seattle. He got a job driving a cab for six months while his application to be a Seattle Police Officer was processed. He was hired on June 27, 1967. His first day on the job was with Dick Rovig #1920 working PM enforcement. Rands first ticket was to a priest who taught at Seattle University. Obviously, he did not teach psychology because he failed the attitude test. After six months on the street Rand attended Academy Class 54 graduating in February 1968. Then he was assigned to the Central Precinct 3rd watch relief. He bounced between East and West. In 1969, he became interested in competitive go kart racing. The karts would reach speeds up to 90 mph. At a race in 1970, he met Mike Troy #3160, a young cadet. They formed a friendship based on their racing interests. In 1973, when Mike was sworn in, he was also assigned to the 3rd watch Central Precinct. Eventually they became partners in the mid 1970’s working relief, then getting a car working 3Q6. They worked together for five years. When Mike went to the detectives, Rand chose to work alone. One night he thought he saw an Aurora Bridge jumper floating face down in Lake Union. He notified radio then jumped in swimming to the victim. It turned out that the victim was flotsam, just an empty jacket, not a human. Soaking wet he returned to the precinct where his squad mates had already returned and presented Rand a commendation/award – the wet jacket. Rand transferred to the North Precinct because he had moved to Lake Forest Park. He always was struggling with his weight, so he began to ride a bicycle from home along the Burke Gilman Trail to the precinct. One shift he was complaining to Ann Martin #4579, who worked the adjacent BOY Sector car, that he had plateaued on his diet. That is when Ann noticed Rand had powdered sugar doughnut crumbs on his face and on his shirt and tie.

Rand’s hearing began to deteriorate due qualifying without ear protection, riding motorcycles and racing go karts. So he transferred back to the West Precinct 3rd watch in late 1989. He was assigned to the hole crew. He stayed there until he retired on November 11, 1997, after 30 years and 5 months of service. But Rand did not quit working. He got a job in the Department’s Warrant Office for the next two years. When the Department decommissioned the Warrant Office, Rand became a PEO for another two years working around the Public Market. During Halloween and Christmas he would dress in costumes while patrolling his meters.

In 2003, he and his wife Cathy built a home on Camano Island. It was too far to commute to Seattle, so Rand totally retired after 35 years with the city. He and his sons Brian and Kerry continued to race go karts. They even competed in the national races for six years frequently finishing in the top ten. Rand earned the moniker “Rapid Ran”. Brian loved racing so much that he became a mechanical engineer and joined Paul Newman’s “Indy 500” racing team. Cathy and Rand used to go on their 25-foot boat and crab. When not racing or boating, they enjoyed entertaining. Rand called himself the “Waffle King of Camano”. They would feed you waffles and sausages any time you showed up. He continued to ride with the “Blue Knights” until an accident in 2015 ended his bike riding.

Rand is survived by his wife of 27 years, Cathy, sons Brian, Kerry and Eric.

Jim Cvar #2686, Retired Seattle Police Patrol Officer, passed away on Sunday, March 13, 2022, he had just turned 77 years of age.  Jim was hired on April 10, 1967 and retired on November 10, 1993.

Jim was born in San Francisco. His dad was a traveling railroad engineer. The job required him to move, with his family, frequently. When Jim was ten years old the family moved to Seattle’s Capitol Hill neighborhood. He got a Seattle Times paper delivery route at eleven years old – one of the youngest paperboys ever. Years later, his dad had to move back to California. Jim stayed in Seattle in order to graduate from Garfield with his school friends. He stayed at a neighbors house, helping to support himself with his Seattle Times delivery job. He specialized in apartment house routes because they were more lucrative. He made enough money to buy old cars and make them into hot rods. He graduated from Garfield in 1963. He moved up to a full-time job with the Times as a district manager for newspaper deliveries. After almost four years, Jim decided he needed a career, not a job so he applied to the Seattle Police Department. He was 21 years old which was too young then to be an officer (you had to be 23 years old to be sworn) but old enough to be a cadet. He was a cadet from April 10, 1967 until October 3, 1969. The next day he was sworn in as an officer. Twenty-four days later he was attending Academy Class 61 which was held in the PSB. Upon graduation, he was assigned to a FTO – Gary Fowler #2920 due to Jim’s lack of street experience before the academy. When he finished his student officer training, he and his academy mate Steve Stokke #3209 were paired up to work East Central relief on 3rd watch. Two years later, Jim got an opportunity to work West Central relief with Lavelle “Bill” Thresher #1836. About this time in early 1975, Jim married Mary Sue. Jim’s next patrol partner in the relief squad was Jim Yoshida #3168. Eventually the sergeant allowed them to walk a new modified beat for two of their six duty days. The beat ran from Seneca to Blanchard on 1st avenue. Now some of the officers in Patrol were complaining they lacked any opportunity to transfer to better assignments – the positions were locked up. The brass responded with a general policy that every patrol officer with five to ten years longevity would be mandatorily transferred to another precinct for career development. The officer’s got career mobility but not the desired upward move, just a lateral assignment to another patrol district. So Yoshida and Cvar were assigned to Wallingford to work 3rd watch relief. Finally they got the regular Lake City car district. They remained partners until Yoshida went to burglary in early 1981. Then Cvar teamed up with Greg Ayco #4408 on the Lake City car. One shift in the fall of 1981, Greg took the day off, so Jim was alone. He was dispatched to a traffic accident on an icy and hilly road. There he slipped and fell twice while investigating the collision injuring his back and shoulder. A month later an unlicensed drunk rear-ended Jim’s prowl car reinjuring his spine. These injuries plagued him the rest of his career. He continued to work Lake City until the late 1980’s then he transferred to 3rd watch West into the PSB to work the “hole crew”. Unfortunately he slipped and fell again, this time on the PSB’s notorious slippery “G” Deck. The last fall forced Jim to retire on November 10, 1993, with 26 ½ years of service.

In retirement Jim had several hobbies: furniture refurnishing, wood working, day hiking, camping and gardening. Most of his activities were close to home. He was a homebody because he moved so often when he was a child due to his father’s job. He had a unique rapport with birds. Jim once coached a Cockatoo down to rescue it. Another time he saved a baby Blue Jay and raised it. It returned to him every year even with its chicks. He also befriended a Starling. It would follow him around while he gardened. He was a real bird whisperer. Also, he had a large collection of vintage vinyl records of classical, big band and jazz recordings which he enjoyed.

Jim is survived by his wife of almost 47 years, Mary Sue, son Joe and daughter Veronica.

Nat Crawford #1931, retired Seattle Police Homicide Detective, passed away on February 23, 2022, at the age of 87.

Nat was born in Kokomo Indiana in 1934. His family moved to Seattle in 1940. He attended Cleveland High where he was an “all city” hurdler. He and Dick Rovig #1920 were track competitors all during their high school years. Nat usually won. When he graduated in 1953, he immediately joined the Marine Reserves. He also worked at various jobs such as at Boeing and fishing commercially in Alaska for the next three years. In 1956, he married his wife, Geri and was activated by the Marines. His MOS was airplane ordinance. Geri and Nat moved to Japan where he was assigned to an air wing. He was kept on active duty for two years. At the end of 1958, he was released from active duty returning to reserve status. He also returned to Seattle’s Wedgewood neighborhood. He and Geri decided that city employment was best for their family so Nat took the combined test for Seattle Fire and Seattle Police. He passed but there were not any openings at that time for the police department. So he became a firefighter for four months while the police department completed his backgrounding. He switched to the SPD on March 27, 1959 and was immediately placed into Academy Class 40. The academy was on the 2nd floor of the relatively new Public Safety Building at 3rd and James. He carpooled to training with Dick Rovig, Charlie Lindblom #1890 and Vic Heins #1882. Some of his classmates were Jim W. Johnson #1919, Bob Fabry #1926, Jim Philbrick #1932, Al Schrader #1897, Dean Olson #1918, Harvey Olson #1893 and Don Daniels #1879 (who organized all their class reunions). Also classmates Bob Allshaw #1925 and John Bartlett #1875 who were both killed in the line of duty. They completed the academy at the end of June. Nat was assigned to Central Precinct 3rd watch for the next three years. In the spring of 1962, he got a day job riding solos for five years. He earned a reputation of making patrol arrests while working on his bike. This got him recruited to the TAC squad in 1967. One of his partners was Jim Tagart #2207. They made a lot of good felony arrests which resulted in in Nat being assigned to Homicide in late 1969. He liked to dig into details during his investigations which made the prosecutors’ job easier. Several years later he transferred to Accident Investigations because he wanted to become an accident reconstructionist. He did this for five years then returned to Homicide in 1978 to work for Jerry Yates #1531. He was partnered with Hank Gruber #2658. In 1982 he left Homicide for Burglary. On January 11, 1984, Nat retired for service with almost 24 years.

In retirement, Nat and his wife Geri travelled to Norway, Scotland and sailed on many cruises to the Caribbean Islands and Alaska with his old Motorcycle Drill Team members. Nat continued to go deer and elk hunting with his buddies Russ Stallman #1899 and Clarence Moyes #2035. When Nat was 74 years old, he bought a Harley to ride with his son Scott and his two son-in-laws John and Johnny throughout the western states.

Nat is survived by his wife of 65 years, Geri, son Scott, daughters Colleen, Cheryl, Cathie and Gail, nine grandchildren and nine great grandchildren.

Jerry Bickford #3693, retired Seattle Police Detective Sergeant passed away on February 21, 2022, at the age of 74.

Jerry was born and raised in the Ballard neighborhood. He attended Ballard High. During his school years he developed an interest in building “hot rods”. After graduating in 1965, he enlisted in the Army for three years. He was assigned to the 1^st Armor Division “Old Ironside”. There he was both a tank crewman and a tank mechanic. He was always trying to make his tanks run better. When his enlistment was up, Jerry returned to Seattle and landed a job with Boeing. After a few months he quit Boeing and moved to Continental Can where he became an apprentice machinist. He thought he had found his life’s career. One of the journeymen that was training Jerry was Don Blair, the senior SPD Police Reserve Officer/Coordinator. He encouraged Jerry to apply to the Department to become a regular. He did and was hired on October 23, 1972, as a 23-year-old recruit. He attended the 6-month long Academy Class #69. He was sworn in on March 23, 1973.

His first assignment after the academy was 2^nd Watch working out of Wallingford. His next assignment was Traffic Enforcement. In late 1979, Jerry took and passed the detective’s test. On February 4, 1980, he was assigned to Burglary and Theft. This assignment lasted six months before he was promoted to sergeant. So back to Traffic Enforcement and later to supervise with the PEO’s for several months. Then he was sent to Communications which was on the 2^nd floor of the PSB. After 18 months he requested a transfer to the Detectives. Well, management granted his transfer request but to Patrol. On March 30, 1988, Jerry got his transfer to Investigations. But again another curveball – he went to Internal Investigations (IIS). There he was handed several high-profile allegations. During late 1993 he escaped from IIS to East Decentralized Burglary on the 2nd floor of the East Precinct. Then he again became involved with an internal complaint. After months of an unresolved investigation, Jerry decided to retire after almost 23 years of service, rather than let the investigation drag on.

Jerry retired on February 3, 1995; however, he was not through with the Department. He contacted retired captain Bill Taylor #2183 who was now a practicing attorney. On February 17, 1998, Jerry took the Department to court. The case was resolved in his favor resulting in an economic damage award.

Jerry was an active member of the Blue Knight motorcycle club all through his career and into retirement. He rode his Harley across Canada, the U.S. and all the way down the Baja Peninsula. He and his son Jeff started the Blue Knight Chapter 3. In fact, the International Chapter in Ireland honored Jerry for all of his work for the club.

In 2008, while buying glasses at the Richland Costco, he met his bride to be – Donna. They got married in 2008. Together they traveled to Norway, Hawaii, Mexico and Canada.

Jerry never stopped building hot rods. He was a Ford man. He especially liked 54 Sky Liners with a transparent moon roof, 63 ½ Galaxy 500’s and 66 Fairlane’s. All with 390 CID or 401 CID engines. He loved taking his extended family out for rides in the cars that he and his son Jeff built or just hanging around all of his grandchildren and great grandchildren.

Jerry is survived by his wife of fourteen years, Donna, son Jeff, a retired police officer, three daughters Kristine, Karen and Stacy, seven grandchildren and three great grandchildren.

Bob Moffett #2098, retired Seattle Police Motorcycle Officer, passed away on February 19, 2022, at the age of 88.

Bob was born in Montana. At an early age he and his family moved to Washington. He attended Mt. Vernon High School. He was on its boxing team. In fact, he won the state boxing championship in his weight class. He graduated in 1952. That summer he moved to California where there was an apprenticeship program for cement masonry. After three years of training Bob moved to Seattle. Bob was now a father, so he bought a house by the Jackson Golf Course in North Seattle. Being involved in the building trades he began to remodel his home. A year later he applied to the Seattle Fire Department because with his growing family he needed the steady employment with benefits. He was hired in 1956. After four years on the SFD, he transferred to the Seattle Police Department. His first day as a patrolman was December 28, 1960. He attended Academy Class 43. He worked Patrol for the next two years in the Central Precinct before transferring to Traffic to ride motorcycles. Bob joined the Motorcycle Drill Team as soon as possible. He loved riding in all the parades during SeaFair. He also travelled with the team to the out of state venues. All the neighborhood children enjoyed hearing Bob start up and rev his Harley on his way to work. He rode solos for seven and a half years. On August 17, 1970, he transferred back to Patrol because he was becoming interested in Guild activities and most SPOG members worked Patrol. In 1971, Guild President George Berger #1734, appointed Bob to the Board of Directors’ Position #6 which was designated for a member of Patrol. A year later he was elected to the position. During this time, Bob was working 3rd watch Charlie sector with Alex Thole #2521. They started a company that remodeled old homes on “the hill” and flipping them. One of the old houses they bought was from Dick Rovig #1920. Bob taught Alex all about restoring, renting and selling old buildings which he still does to this day.

In February 1976, Bob became the Guild’s Secretary/Treasurer. In 1979, he decided to run for Seattle City Council Position #2 against Dolores Sibonga. Alex and Bob sold all their investment properties so he would not appear to have a conflict of interest when voting on urban development issues if elected. Alex was Bob’s campaign treasurer. Bob took a six month leave of absence to campaign full-time. He lost the race, but he gained name recognition.

He returned to Guild politics and was elected President in February 1978. He stepped down in 1981 to run again for City Council. This time against Virginia Galle for Position #3. Alex was his campaign treasurer again. Bob took another but shorter leave of absence to campaign. After this loss, Guild President Mike Patrick appointed Bob back to the Guild’s Board of Directors. He and Alex restarted their home renovation and flipping properties business while they continued to work East Precinct.

Bob retired for service on July 12, 1985, after 29 ½ years of service. In retirement he and his wife travelled to China, Scotland and Mexico. They bought another home in Arizona and became “snowbirds”. Together they were very active volunteering in their church. Bob’s favorite activities were fishing, gardening and helping out friends and neighbors.

Bob is survived by his wife of 36 years Patricia, seven children, nine grandchildren and fifteen great grandchildren. Both his first-born child, daughter Pam, and his second-born child, daughter Sandra, preceded him in death.

Joel Hayes #2247, retired Seattle Police Patrolman passed away on February 5, 2022, at the age of 84. Just two days shy of his 85th birthday.

Joel was born and raised in the greater Ellensburg area. He attended Kittitas High School where he played basketball. But his favorite activity was being a spectator at the Ellensburg Rodeo. He was drafted as soon as he finished high school. Two years later completing his military obligation he returned to Washington. He got a job at the Monroe Penitentiary as a custody guard. After two years at the “Pen” he decided to break out and follow his fellow guard Roy Skagen #2204 and escape to the Seattle Police Department. Joel was hired on March 21, 1962, four months after Roy who was attending Academy Class 44. Joel worked the streets for five months before being assigned to Academy Class 45. Two of his academy mates were Bob Caruth #2244 and Howard Baus #2218. Upon graduating, the three were assigned to patrol the Century 21’s Worlds’ Fair on the Seattle Center grounds. When the fair was over, they were sent to the Central Precinct to work both East and West districts. In late 1965, Clay Bean #1518 asked Joel to return to the Seattle Center; which, he did for the next seven years. He always said this was the best job he ever had. While working the Center he began to notice his hearing was deteriorating. It was affected by shooting in the enclosed range inside the old Armory (now the “Center House”), yearly SPD qualifications and the amusement ride noises of the Fun Forest Park on the Center’s grounds plus his noise exposure in the military. He took the sergeant’s test in 1972 and passed high on the test. So he requested to go back to Patrol. However his hearing limited his opportunity. He was assigned to the Property Room on the third floor of the Public Safety Building for a year handing out equipment and taking in evidence. Next, he was sent to “Water and Air Patrol”. This is when the Department not only had harbor boats but also helicopters. This detail lasted eight months. Then he was assigned to the new departmental entity – the Evidence Unit, which was cannibalized from the old Property Room. His sergeant was Beryl Thompson #1833. Joel was very adept at organizing and tracking evidence inventory, so Beryl appointed him as lead. Later he was made supervisor of the evening shift overseeing civilians. Joel never quit trying to go back on the streets, but it was not to be. He worked in the Evidence Unit from 1974 until he had to retire on September 14, 1979, after almost seventeen years of service.

After leaving the Department he did not just sit home. He got a job at the Federal Way U.S. Postal Service Processing Center for the next 16 years. Then he became tired of working for bosses and began working for himself. He learned landscaping and hardscaping, next he became an electrician, learned to weld and taught himself wood carving. His last project was carving a 20-foot totem pole that’s still at home unfinished laying in the garage. He was always trying new endeavors.

Joel’s wife, of 49 years, Alberta, preceded him in death passing away in 2017. He is survived by three daughters – Kathy, Carie and Kelly, four granddaughters and one great grandson.

Donna Brazel #1618, retired Seattle police detective, passed away on Saturday, January 29th at 94 years of age.  Donna was hired on March 1, 1955 and retired after twenty-five years of service on March 29, 1980. 

Donna was born in Tacoma. She grew up in Port Angeles. She graduated from Roosevelt High there. Then she enrolled in WSU, graduating in 1950. She moved to Spokane and got a job with the American Automobile Association (AAA). After three years she moved to Seattle to be near her brother Rodney. She continued to work for AAA another year. One day at the AAA office, she met an SPD auto theft detective who encouraged her to apply to the department. She did as a lark. She was hired as a “Provisional Policewoman” immediately after the oral interview on March 1, 1955, by a vote of the oral board members. In late 1958 her employment status changed to regular Policewoman. Six months later January 5, 1959, she was assigned to Academy Class 39. Some of her Academy mates were Joe Sanford #1896, Frank Jones #1885, Joe Tolliver #1901, Joe Cordas #1878, Lynn Coney #1858, and Beryl Thompson #1833.

Her four years before the Academy and the nine years after, Donna enjoyed working in the Women’s Bureau, which handled juveniles, mentals, and child welfare cases. The Woman’s Bureau would staff a woman’s car that would supplement and aid Patrol with such calls. The duty was rotated throughout the bureau. She worked a car with Joyce Johnson #1292 and Helen Karas #1235. In the latter 1960’s, the Department hired the International Association of Chiefs of Police (IACP) to do a study of the Departments structure and personnel. The IACP recommended disbanding the Women’s Bureau and changing the Policewoman’s classification to “Policewoman Detectives.” They were then assigned to the Investigation Bureau’s detective units. Donna and Joyce ended up in a sub squad of Homicide called “Morals.” This was a change of focus from their earlier cases. They quickly adjusted. Around 1968, their status changed again. This time to “Police Officer Detective.” Donna was known as a good interrogator. She was able to build a rapport with interviewees. She stayed in Morals when it was retitled to Sex Crimes. One of her partners was Pat Lamphere #2687. In the 1970’s Donna was loaned to Research and Development to work with Noreen Skagen #1990 to design a Class A uniform for women assigned to Patrol. This effort lasted for years and went through many evolutions before resulting in a uniform that finally matched the male officers. Donna was often temporarily assigned to VICE as a decoy. She was highly successful. Toward the end of her career in 1978, when the Tutankhamun exhibit came to the Seattle Center, she volunteered her time to set up the exhibits and guide tours, like what she did when she was employed at AAA. She did not work the security detail. <p<Donna retired on March 28, 1980, after twenty-five years of service. In retirement she traveled often to Europe, China, Canada, across the US and Mexico. She also volunteered at the Opera Association and volunteered to escort tours of the “China Exhibit – Son of Heaven” in 1988. She helped Mary Stowe #1330 organize a reunion of veterans of the Women’s Bureau. She remained close to her brother’s family throughout her entire life.

Nephew Steve Brazel and niece Holly Brazel survive Donna.

Steve Stokke, #3209, Retired Seattle Police Patrol Officer, passed away on Thursday, January 20, 2022 at 74 years of age. Steve was hired on July 22, 1969 and retired on July 24, 1998 after 29 years of service.

Steve was raised in Seattle. He graduated from Ballard High in 1965. Immediately afterward he enlisted in the Army. His MOS was Communications-Radio Operator assigned to an artillery unit in Germany. Upon discharge he returned to Seattle and applied to the Department.

Steve was hired on July 22, 1969. After his three-day orientation he was sent to Wallingford. There he was partnered up with Jim Cvar #2686 who had been a cadet. Three months later both Jim and Steve were assigned to Academy Class 61. When they graduated, they along with academy mate Ernie Shreve #3247, were assigned to East Central Relief. The three worked Charlie and George sectors. One of them would frequently be partnered up with Mike Burke #3140. Later Steve and Ken Jakobsen #2963 teamed up to work 1st watch Charlie sector. Ken convinced Steve to take up golf. After a lousy round at Snohomish Golf Course, Steve was very disgruntled with his poor performance. While drowning his aggravations at the local watering hole, he yelled “I feel like fighting someone!” His golf partner Al McIntyre #1922, without saying a word, immediately punched Steve knocking him off the bar stool. Without missing a beat, Steve jumped up yelling “Not you asshole, you’re my golf buddy!” Several years later while working North, Steve and Ken joined the Department’s soccer team to get in shape. Steve played like a 240-pound NFL fullback – not a soccer defense man. He wore football shoes not soccer shoes. He was all power no finesse. He would run through his opponent rather than finesse the ball away. Needless to say Steve was “Yellow Carded” a lot for unnecessary roughness. However, the opposing players soon got the message and gave up the ball to Steve rather than get tackled and dumped to the ground. He also attended North Seattle Community College earning an AA degree in Police Science.

Steve stayed in Patrol his entire career. One shift he encountered an unoccupied runaway car that was rolling out of a parking lot into traffic on Roosevelt Ave NE. With difficulty, while running alongside of the vehicle he managed to open the driver’s door. He was unable to jump into the car but was able to turn the steering wheel directing the car into an abutment. So the car was stopped and didn’t go into traffic. However the collision caused the door frame to strike and injure Steve’s head and spine. The injured vertebrae’s caused his shooting hand and arm to go numb. It got to the point of him having difficulty qualifying at the range. Also his hearing became affected by the injury and exposure to loud noises from the Army ordinance and training with police firearms. On March 6, 1999, after almost 30 years of service, Steve retired.

During retirement Steve stayed in contact with his good friends from the Department such as Ken Jakobsen, Ken Zarko #3312 until he died in 2003 and Dan McFadden #3470 until he passed away in 2015. In 2005, Steve and his wife moved to Yakima because she got a job there. Steve continued to golf about three times a week with his wife Rebecca. Then even more frequently after she quit working.

Steve is survived by his wife of 20 years Becky, daughter Tina, sons Phil, Steve and Michael, six grandchildren and two great grandchildren.