Someone recently asked me about what honoring my husband would look like to me, and I responded that it should look just like it does when we honor a Law Enforcement Officer who dies in the line of duty. We should receive the benefits. We should receive the same honors. We should be treated exactly like the families of those officers who died in the line of duty or from Covid or any other reason. Grubby should have a memorial plaque in the memorial garden behind the courthouse. We should receive a flower to place in the vases and wreaths. Our loved one’s badge numbers should be retired. This is what honor looks like. After stating all of this, I was asked what would be an acceptable compromise?
I answered immediately. There is no acceptable compromise. My husband didn’t compromise his position with the Sheriff’s Office. He didn’t compromise his integrity or his character. He didn’t play politics to earn a promotion or respect. He earned his Corporal stripes because of his knowledge, professionalism, and his leadership abilities. He earned his respect because he was uncompromising in his character, because he treated others with respect (even if they didn’t deserve it!), because he was the man he was. Grubby was no less a hero than some who have gone before him.
Grubby was the deputy who NEVER called out sick, NEVER ran from a threat, and ALWAYS answered when anyone needed help. When the county had continuous rain for 13 hours during Hurricane Michael, Grubby stayed out on the road to help. He tied a rope to his waist and his push bar and waded into flooding water to help a man who was stranded. He came home looking like a drowned rat, but he came home. When an elderly couple went missing on a Thursday in November, he went out to help search for them on his day off! HE found them! No one else found them. Grubby did. His ONLY reward was the “Thank you” he received from the woman the next morning at the hospital, but he didn’t care. He didn’t go looking for them for a reward. He went looking for them because that was who he was. When there was a triple homicide on a Tuesday morning, he went to help find the suspect on his day off. When a friend and fellow deputy was shot, he sent his dad to pick me up at the airport because he went in on his day off to be with that deputy. He gave up holidays, birthdays, vacations – all for the job. In the end, he gave his life to that job, so the least anyone could do is to treat Abby, Michael, Pop, and I the same way that other survivors are treated.
He deserves to be remembered – not for the way he died, but for the way he lived. They all do.
I retired from the department in 2019 Grubby was a trip. When I first met him I weren’t sure if he was friendly or not from my first impression. But very quickly you find out he was a super great guy and deputy. It was an honor to wear the uniform with him. He is missed
Wayne
ne was like the brother that I never had. When I would go out of the country on a mission trip, he would go by the farm on his day off to check things out. I miss his Friendship.
He thought so highly of you, JD, as do I. Thank you.
❤️
As I sat here and read this I cried. Grubby is remembered every day. He is a great man. When I worked on the shift of dispatchers that worked with his shift of deputies he was always good to us. Cooking breakfast for all of them one morning he said you have to buy the nooks and crannies. So we made sure he had his nooks and crannies. Grubby will never be forgotten.
Thank you. It broke my heart when I realized that it was Kelly that took the call that day. I was a dispatcher for the city ten years ago, and I always told him to take care of the dispatchers. I reminded him that dispatchers can’t leave to go get food or snacks, and that picking them up something at the Kangaroo was always a nice gesture. I know that he’s missed by so many; I just want them to acknowledge him and honor him the same way they honor the others…
Grubby is remembered every day! Never hesitated going into any situation with him!
He loved and respected you so much. You were like the sister he never had, and I am so grateful for your presence in our lives.
Grubby is remembered everyday! I carry my penny close to my heart! He was not only a great Deputy but an Amazing Man!!! He deserves to be Honored and his family respected.
Oh, Alli, I know what a good friend you were to him, even if he was afraid of your daddy (even though I miss him terribly, I’m still glad for that. 😂). Y’all had a history, and you can tell those young Grubby stories.
I read this with tears, emotional, they all deserve to be remembered, never forgotten….
Grubby is amazing and was there to help me when I needed help he helped me through a lot
Thank you. I am so touched by the number of people who have told me how much he helped them. I only wish he’d realized what a hero he was to so many.
Thank you, SarahSusie. They certainly do deserve to be honored and remembered. PTSI is real. Being overwhelmed by one’s thoughts is real, and unfortunately, the old school mentality still persists and the stigma is still there. Things are changing, slowly, but they are changing.
Grubby was a person that knew my situation in life and he was happy when he realized I changed my life around. He went to my mom and dad church I went to as a kid. And grubby was a good Christian police officer and he would give his shirt off his back to you.
Thank you, Dianna. I remember you, and I remember that he was happy when you were able to step away from that old life. He was the kind of person who never judged anyone or held a person’s past against them, and he truly saw the best in everyone.