Family, Friends & Fellow Officers Remember...

I thought of you on the 19th. I think of you everyday so it wasn't anything unusual, except it was your birthday and you weren't here. It was one of your favorite days, a big day of celebration for you. I'm sorry I can't celebrate...you know how selfish I am. Gabrielle and I were talking about you, about how much we love and miss you, and of course all our old childhood stories she pretends to never get tired of hearing...lol...she really doesn't ever get tired of stories of you. We even went through all our old pictures...can you believe it...me looking at pictures!! All these years and I still can't get through that day or August 8 without losing it!! I have learned to live but I never learned how to let you go. I know now I never will.

Everyone says you are here with all us, especially Kayleigh and Jeremy and your beautiful grandchildren, but it is so hard to be here when you're not. I know how proud you are of them, as you should be!! They are so wonderful, and doing such a great job as parents...just like their mother.

I love you, angel. I miss you more everyday and look forward to the day I can see you again.

Tanya Smith

June 22, 2010

Hey my beautiful Angel!
I miss you more than words can explain!! The older I get the harder it seems to not have you here with us. Lane talks about you ofter now, he says he wishes he could get wings and fly up to see you one time. I sure wish you were here to play with him and spoil him and Madison as well! Mothers day is Sunday and it's just not the same with out you here!! Sometimes I just think one more hug and kiss from you mama would make things so different, but I'd get greedy and hold you and never let you go again! But, I love you mama! Keep watching down over us and we will keep looking up at you!! xoxoxo
I love you always and in all ways!

Kayleigh
Daughter

May 6, 2010

Hey girl.....been just a nudge over 10 years.....thought about you on the 8th....never really knew the date, but for some reason on or about the 8th you came to mind.

Pretty odd...

Just wanted to get by and let you know that there are some down here that still think about you -

tjk

T.J. Kelley
Radio Personality

September 20, 2009

dana
on this day i wish nothing but the best for your family, i know that you are looking down upon them with pride in your heart and amazement in your eyes, for how they chose to go on, even though you were'nt there to guide them.

i believe i've said it before, i did'nt know you well, but i knew you well enough to feel the love that you expressed towards everyone you came in touch with.

you will always be missed and remembered.

scott

ff/pmdc..scott thomas
bcfd

May 25, 2009

Dana Dana, oh how I miss you. I have known you most all of my life. I did not know of this site until now and I am glad to have learned of it. I miss you more now than when I moved away. We could always talk about anything and whenever I mailed you a letter, I got a letter from you. We knew each other's secrets and what we were thinking even from a distance. I still talk to you and know that you are with me always in my heart and my memories. I miss you and love you everyday!!!

Love and miss you,
Lisa Delph Crank

Anonymous

May 25, 2009

Dana, I just met your sister Danitia last week and she directed me to this site! I know she really loves and misses you! A trivial side note is, your badge # was 211, which matches my birthday of Feb 11th :-)
Anyway, you are missed by many.

Keith Summers
Sprayberry Class of 1981

May 25, 2009

Iv never really understud how much one person could mean to someone tell i met Danitia, I hope you know you ment everything and still do mean everything to her i wish you could be here cause i would love to meet you. I have hurd so much about you, i hope i get to meet you one day.

Anonymous

May 4, 2009

Dana how i miss you. there isnt a day that goes by that i dont think of you and miss you. you left without telling me how to live with out you and im still just as lost as the day you left me. with your guidance and Gods help im getting by.
you may no longer be with us here on earth but i can tell you your legacy lives on. there are so man lives you touched in a positive way. I know you have to be soooo proud of kayliegh and jeremy. and those grandbabies!!! i give them a kiss from you every time i get to see them which isnt nearly enough. daddy is crazy about both of them. there's something bout madison that reminds me so much of you. and lane well lane has your sense of adventure and your stubbornness. i love you dana. thank you for all that you did and for all that you tried to do for me. till that day...

danitia
sister

April 20, 2009

I miss you and think of you often. I can't eat a pepperoni and pineapple pizza without smiling and thinkng of you. It was a pleasure to serve with you. You were one of a kind. May God Bless Your Family.

Officer Rena' Wiggins
Harrison County Patrol Mississippi

August 14, 2008

We miss you Dana... I take comfort every day because I know that you stand watch over us. I was blessed to have you in my life as a friend, and will see you again someday.

Fmr D/S Kristina Collins
Cherokee County SO (Former Deputy)

June 26, 2008

Hey momma!!
Wow its almost been nine years! I miss you more and more everyday!! I'm sorry its been so long since I have been on here and to see you! It's gotten so hard for me since Mr. Lane got here!! Your a grandma can you believe it!? I wish so bad you could have met him and hold him!! He's amazing and I pray that I'll be as good as a mother as you! I have thought about you so much lately and if it wasn't for Tanya I dont know what I would do at times!! She has talked me through so many crying times here lately. I love her so much and out of all your friends she has been there for me though it all! If I ever had to go through losing her to I dont know what I would do!! But Momma I just want you to know I love you so so much and I think about you everyday!! You have a beautiful grandson! Sometimes I think its your way of coming back.. I got pregnant in August! How crazy!! I love you beautiful angel!!! Take care up there!!
I love you Always!!

Kayleigh
Daughter

January 24, 2008

Wow, it has been almost 9 years since you were here with us. I still cannot get over your being gone. I struggle every day to get over your death and moving on...just not doing so well with it. Every day I wake up you are always on my mind and are on my mind till I go to bed. I had a couple of dreams about you and really want to believe that you came to visit with me through my dream. I will never ever forget what you said to me in my dream. If only for a brief moment, it was so sweet and nice to see and talk with you.

You were such a wonderful person and my hero. I was so proud of you when you came and told me that you were going to finally get a chance to do what you always wanted to do. Your were a true hero and I am sure that there is lots of people who miss you very deeply that you worked with.

I just wished you were still here and we had the chance to talk again. I miss that so much that it breaks my heart when I think about it. I have not been able to make friends with anyone the way you were my friend. I would not be able to handle ever loosing another one the way it has affected me loosing you. I sometimes miss you so deeply that it is very hard to deal with. Just always remember that I loved you as my own sister.

Dana Norrell
Friend

January 2, 2008

"The Badge"

He starts his shift each day
To respond to calls unknown.
He drives a marked patrol car.
A police officer he is known.

He's paid by the citizens' taxes
To make it safe on the streets.
But he usually has a second job
'Cause a waitress has his salary beat.

Now he doesn't know a holiday
'Cause he works all year round.
And when Thanksgiving and Christmas finally arrive
At his home he cannot be found.

He's cursed and assaulted often,
The one whos blood runs blue.
He seldom ever gets a thanks,
To some he's just a fool.

His friends are always other cops
'Cause people just don't understand
That underneath his badge and gun,
He's just another man.

He knows there might not be a tomorrow
In this world of drugs and crime.
And he gets so mad at the court system
'Cause the crooks don't get any time.

And each day when he leaves for work,
He prays to God above.
Please bring me home after my shift
So I can see the ones I love.

But tonight he stops a speeding car,
He's alone down this ole' highway.
It's just a little traffic infraction.
He does it everyday.

Well, he walks up to the driver's window,
And his badge is shining bright.
He asked the guy for a driver's license,
When a shot rang through the night.

Yes, the bullet hit its mark,
Striking the officer in the chest.
But the Department's budget didn't buy
Each officer a bullet-proof vest.

So he lay on the ground bleeding.
His blood wasn't blue - His blood was red.
And briefly he thought of his loved ones
'Cause in a moment the officer was dead.

In the news they told the story
Of how this officer had died.
And some who listened cared less,
But those who loved him cried.

Well, they buried him in uniform
With his badge pinned on his chest.
He even had his revolver,
He died doing his best.

Written By:
David L. Bell
Sergeant
Richland County Sheriff's Department
Columbia, South Carolina
Used with Special Permission of the Author
Copyright © 1999 - All Rights Reserved
and may not be duplicated without permission

Investigator David L Bell
Richland County Sheriff's Dept., Columbia, SC

December 23, 2007

My thoughts and prayers to the family, friends and co-workers of Deputy Shaw on the anniversary of her passing. May God comfort you all. Heros are never forgotten.

911 Dispatcher
Virginia

August 8, 2007

Hey Baby Girl. I stopped by to see your beautiful face in your picture and started crying. Six years and you are still an open wound. Melissa, Lisa and I still talk about you. Melissa is a new mommy and my "baby girl" just turned 5. You are still glued to the back of my badge to keep me safe. I've heard you are a grandma and hope your grandbaby has your heart and drive. I can't believe it has been so long. I still regret not seeing Kayleigh and Jeremy more. I could not get past my own grief for so long so I probably would not have been much help to them. I know you are there for them. Thanks for keeping us safe and I know you'll be waiting for me with bells on when it is my time. I love you sweet angel. Love, me.

Ofc. K. Murphy
Woodstock P.D.

January 3, 2007

Seven years have passed since your end of watch and you have not been forgotten. You are a true hero and heroes never die. I didn't visit your site on your end of watch anniversary as it is the same date as my son's end of watch. As your loved ones know, that day is a terrible day and always will be for as long as we all walk this earth. Keep watch over your loved ones and those still out on patrol. I'd like to leave a poem for your loved ones and friends:

Poem by Richard Fife:

No person is ever truly alone.
Those who live no more,
Whom we loved,
Echo still within our thoughts,
Our words, our hearts.
And what they did,
And who they were,
Becomes a part of all that we are
Forever.

Bob Gordon
Father of Fallen Officer Michael P. Gordon, EOW: 8/8/04

October 12, 2006

I hate today...hated yesterday and the day before even more. I woke up at 4:30 am on 0808....thinking of you. Another year has gone by and I am still as angry as I was the day you left. Maybe even more now....you're a grandmother and you will never hold your grandson. So many blessed events that you are not here for. Your absence is so loud, so profound, that the days are hard to get through. The last seven years have been so long. Just yesterday a person I met recently asked about you. I get so carried away talking about you and usually am brought to tears. Kayleigh and I talked on the anniversary. She was lying in the bed with Lane, I could hear him in the background and was reminded once again that you should be here. She and I never get tired of talking about you and hopefully between the two of us, Lane will feel like he knew his grandmother. Grandma....can you believe it!!!??? Remember when we talked about sitting on the front porch together while our children brought their children to see us?? We were just little girls ourselves!! How long ago that seems, yet the days are here. I miss you so much!! There will never be a day that I do not think of you, miss you and love you.

All my love,
Tanya

Sergeant Tanya Smith
Sandy Springs PD

August 10, 2006

To the family and loved ones of Deputy Dana Denise Shaw and her fellow officers with the Cherokee County Sheriff's Department:

On this the seventh anniversary week of Dana's tragic death, I wanted to honor and remember her today. Although I never had the privilege of meeting Dana, I feel as if I know her through the loving reflections left by loved ones and friends. What an amazing woman Dana must have been for everyone to feel so free to express their undiminished love for her.

I hope that God is holding her in the sweetest part of his heart and the most gentle part of his soul.

To her children, your mother must be so proud of how you two are doing in your lives.

I am so sorry that Dana was robbed of her life so tragically, but through her heroism and the profound sense of duty with which she lived his life, she made an immeasurable difference. May her spirit continue to soar and may her memory continue to inspire.

This reflection is sent with the utmost respect for the dedicated service Dana gave to her community and the citizens of Georgia, and for the supreme sacrifice he and his family made on August 8, 1999.

Phyllis L. Loya, mother of fallen officer Larry Lasater, PPD
eow 4/24/05

August 9, 2006

just visited Wayne Woodard and thought I would check your site. You were quite a gal and I really appreciated the heartfelt talks we had in the jail. You were the first to go at Cherokee and I was so sad. I think about our discussion at the church in Marietta, for the funeral of the two brave SWAT officers. How we planned for me to ride with you one night after I returned from vacation. Only to be coming home from vacation and get the call about your death. I often think what if I had been riding with you that night of the wreck, would things have been any different. Well I want forget you gal and I am so proud to read your children are doing well.

Senior Chaplain Jim Mantooth-retired
cherokee County Sheriff's Office-Canton,Ga.

July 20, 2006

It's funny. I didn't really know you that well, but I knew many around you. It's been over 5 years, and something compelled me today to come to this place to read what others still leave. Some still friends, some not, but we all still have in common the way you touched our lives in one degree or another.

Your passing early that morning is something I relive frequently, with my best friend in tears calling me to turn on the TV to see the news that you were gone. While we weren't incredibly close, we became fast friends, my on air antics singling you and Tanya out for all of Atlanta to hear. (Remember telling me the different codes for crazy people and all that, and that being the theme of my show? And the lady that called and said I was gonna get the "PO-leece in trouble for announcing their secret codes on the air"?)

Anyway, not sure why I'm here tonight, only that I am. You picked up a Cobb County gal last year when my Mother came to your neck of the woods. Keep an eye on her for me, will ya?

You're still missed.....
tjk

tjk
still on the air

December 30, 2005

Hello Angel,
I miss you so much everyday. Six years has done nothing to ease the pain of losing of you. I pray everyday for the Lord to bless with me with just five more minutes with you. To hear your voice, see your face, smell your perfume, anything just to be with you again. I go by your grave all the time, but can not seem to bring myself to walk up to you. I just can see you there. I know you hear me, I know you are listening to all my conversations with you like you always did. Nothing has been the same since you left. I can not seem to bring myself to get close to another person because no one compares to you. I get so angry because it is so wrong that your not here. This world has no idea what it lost when you left. I am rambling on again. I have Kayleigh to help me keep all the memories alive. We talk about you all the time and all the great times we shared. You would be so proud of her!! She is such an incredible young woman now. And Jeremy, all I can say is wow!! He is in the Army now, a grown man. Sometimes it is odd to think of them now as grown up when I saw them as babies. I miss you, have I told you that? I can wait to see you again. I don't talk to Samantha or Gina that much anymore. We lost touch with our glue that held us together. It is amazing..the effect you had on all of us and what a powerful influence you had on all of our lives. I love you so much!!!! Even after all of these years you are still influencing every day of my life. You are with me in every decision I make and every day of my life. You would be so proud that everything you did with Kayleigh and Jeremy, every value and ethic you taught them is working in their lives. You did such a fantastic job!! All of your worries about how they would grow up and all of your teaching worked. They are their mother's children, they are you!! I wish that everyone knew how truely incredible of a person you were and still are.

I miss you and love you so much!! Take care of everyone up there and wait for me. We will be together again one day, just as we planned.

Until I see you again,
All my love
Tanya

Det Tanya Smith
Kennesaw Police Dept

September 14, 2005

God Bless you.

March 12, 2005

We remember the officers who changed our lives,
The men and woman who protected us day and night,
People who respect for their dedication to the cause,
For when faced with danger, they never even pause.
We remember the officers who always stood true,
Whatever the color of uniform, brown gray or blue,
With pride and integrity they say "To serve and protect",
For the giving of their life, we offer our respect.
We remember the officers who we never really knew,
Persons strong enough to answer the challenge are few,
With heavy hearts we mourn the officers in eternal rest,
There's more to these people than the badge on their chest.

Not one of us will ever forget you. Thank you and we love you!

Explorer Post 1911
Cherokee Sheriff's Office

February 28, 2005

Dear Dana,
I only met u a few times but my mom said so much about u. i will never forget the stories she told me about u 2 and the story of how u and Tanya met. I really miss Tanya and the girls, I havent seen them in like a year. please see if u can find a way for me to see them again i know my mom really wants 2 see Tanya. I will love you 4 ever!!!
~Love Always~

Amber Kendall

February 26, 2005

Dana I went to school with you. I just found this website. I lost a dear friend of mine last week that was also a police officer take care of him. I could not believe it when I heard about your accident. I know it has been hard for your family and friends.

Linda Sosebee Brewer

February 25, 2005