REMEMBERING DEVOUT DEPUTY SERVICE DRAWS HUNDREDS FOR `HERO, FRIEND'.Byline: Greg Botonis Staff Writer LANCASTER - On every Sunday for the past two years, more than 500 members of the Church of Jesus Christ Church of Jesus Christ may refer to:
He was born in 1970 in Kingston, New York. Fletcher now owns theMechanism, a design firm; with one office in New York and another in London, UK. - some inspirational, others profound. The rest of the week, Fletcher worked for the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department This article is about the Los Angeles County Sherriff's Department, not to be confused with the smaller Los Angeles County Police The Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department (LASD) is a local law enforcement agency that serves Los Angeles County, California. , trying to solve some of the Antelope Valley's toughest child abuse cases. Fletcher's myriad contributions to the community were recalled Thursday morning, when several hundred mourners gathered at a funeral for the decorated 26-year deputy, who died Saturday of an apparent heart attack at age 44. ``The most important thing anyone could say about Dave Fletcher is that he was a hero to all of us - not only as a deputy, or a bishop, but as a friend,'' said Deputy Dan Burdick, one of a dozen speakers to eulogize eu·lo·gize tr.v. eu·lo·gized, eu·lo·giz·ing, eu·lo·giz·es To praise highly in speech or writing, especially in a formal eulogy. eu Fletcher during the 90-minute funeral. During the service at the Mormon Church The Mormon Church is a religious body founded in 1830 in Fayette, New York, by Joseph Smith. It is also known as the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, or LDS Church. There are 7.7 million Mormons worldwide. in Lancaster, sheriff's deputies offered a final salute The Final Salute is an informal form of saluting performed by Aircraft pilots particularly in the Air Force. Even though many various Air Forces of countries use salutes which are similar to the British Army (i.e. as Fletcher's flag-covered coffin was carried between two rows of uniformed officers, headed by Sheriff Lee Baca Leroy David Baca (b. May 27 1942, East Los Angeles, California) is the Sheriff of Los Angeles County, California. After graduating from Benjamin Franklin High School (Los Angeles) in 1960, Baca worked his way through East Los Angeles College before starting with the L.A. . And after the funeral After the Funeral is a work of detective fiction by Agatha Christie and first published in the US by Dodd, Mead and Company in 1953 under the title of Funerals are Fatal , a block-long procession of three dozen patrol cars - with emergency lights flashing - escorted Fletcher's family to Joshua Memorial Park. There, a flyover by a Sheriff's Department helicopter paid tribute to the law enforcement veteran. During the service, many mourners shared stories of the impact Fletcher had on their lives. ``There were four people who were the reason I joined the department, and Deputy Fletcher was one of them,'' said Deputy Dave Miklos, who has now been with the department for more than 11 years. ``People have preconceived notions of law enforcement as being very cold and unfeeling, and Dave showed me that wasn't the case. You couldn't find a more gentle, caring individual more dedicated to his family and community,'' Miklos said. Fletcher joined the department as a patrol deputy at the Firestone sheriff's station before being transferred to the Antelope Valley. He also served several years with the Substance Abuse Narcotics narcotics n. 1) techinically, drugs which dull the senses. 2) a popular generic term for drugs which cannot be legally possessed, sold, or transported except for medicinal uses for which a physician or dentist's prescription is required. Education program warning children of the dangers of drugs. He was with the North County Family Crimes Bureau in the old Lancaster sheriff's station handling child abuse cases with just four other deputies for a little more than four years. Members of the small unit said they immediately felt the loss of their co-worker and friend. Fletcher is survived by his wife, Barbara; eight children,Jennifer, Sharla, David, Kimberly, Jeremiah, Jared, Andrew and Adam; his mother, Patricia McClure Baker; and five brothers. CAPTION(S): 2 photos Photo: (1 -- 2 -- color) Deputies salute Thursday as pallbearers, above, carry the casket of Dave Fletcher, a bishop of the Mormon Church and sheriff's deputy, from the chapel. At left, Sheriff Lee Baca, third from left, joins mourners. Jeff Goldwater/Staff Photographer |
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