Tree shines blue light on fallen officers

Born out of a tragedy, Concerns of Police Survivors has worked for decades as a support system for those affected by the deaths of on-duty law enforcement officers.

Tuesday morning in Kalispell at the Flathead County Justice Center, recognition of those ongoing efforts continued when Flathead County workers decorated a tree with blue lights and a star.

Kalispell resident Sandi Waverek became involved after her nephew, West Yellowstone Police Officer Patrick Kramer, died in a vehicle crash on icy roads while responding to another crash in 2006.

“This is an organization no one wants to join,” Waverek said. “Our Montana officers chose to serve a profession that sometimes demands the ultimate sacrifice. Everyone in this organization knows that dealing with the shock and grief of losing a loved one is a very difficult journey.”

She recalled the very emotional services held for Kramer following his death at the age of 29.

“The whole town turned out,” she said. “There were little kids saluting him during the processional through town. It was very moving.”

Waverek explained how the Christmas season can be an especially difficult time for family members who are without their loved ones.

“As a way to help them realize that their community understands and supports them each year, for the past several years a tree was planted and is filled with blue lights to remember those fallen officers,” she said.

“We usually hold a gathering at the tree for family members and friends, but with COVID we didn’t want to chance it, but hopefully in 2021 we can gather there,” Waverek said. “We also invite everyone to maybe place even a single blue light in a window at your homes to help light the night and help the families know their loved ones will not be forgotten.”

The Montana Chapter of COPS was established in 2010 following several years of line-of-duty deaths, including several in the Flathead Valley.

Montana Highway Patrol Sgt. Jerry Ren, who lost his father, Michael, in a shootout with a wanted man near Eureka in 1978, explained how he and Becky Sturdevant helped get the Montana chapter formed. Ren served as the Montana chapter president in 2011-12.

“I’ve been doing the blue lights in my home since the 1980s and then Becky asked me to help get the Montana chapter formed,” Ren said.

Sturdevant’s son, Evan Frederick Schneider, died Aug. 26, 2008, when he was struck head-on by a drunk driver in the Bad Rock Canyon area while pursuing another vehicle driven by an unknown person who was weaving and crossing the center line.

Other troopers who died in the line of duty in the Flathead include Richard E. Hedstrom, who was killed by a drunk driver in Columbia Falls in 1973; David A. Graham, who died when a pickup truck struck him in a head-on crash in Kalispell in 2007; and Michael W. Haynes, who died when his patrol car was hit head-on by a drunk driver north of Kalispell in 2009.

The Montana chapter also works with survivors in nearby states, including Idaho and North and South Dakota.

Its current president, Nancy DeLaittre, became a survivor in 2010 when her son, Montana Highway Patrol Trooper David DeLaittre, was shot and killed while checking on a truck sitting in the middle of a road near his childhood home in Three Forks.

The national nonprofit organization, headquartered in Camdenton, Missouri, is funded from outside donations. More than 54,000 survivors, including family members, significant others and co-workers of America’s fallen officers belong to chapters across the country.

It began in 1984. Today it has more than 50 chapters across the country. It has programs for survivors at an annual conference in May, offers scholarships, a counseling reimbursement program for kids, kids summer camp, Outward Bound Adventure program for young adults as well as many other support programs.

For more information, go to montanacops.org.

Scott Shindledecker may be reached at 406-758-4441 or at sshindledecker@dailyinterlake.com.