Our Friend Shane

On Friday, Ed and I attended the funeral of our good friend and law enforcement officer, a wonderful father and husband. Shane Wyrsch, 35, was killed by a drunk driver last Monday. He was on his way home from a meeting when he came upon some guy, the "alleged" drunk driver, weaving around in his lane. An off duty police officer behind this driver was on the phone trying to get through to report him to dispatch, but, before she could get through, this "alleged" drunk crossed the center line and slammed head on into Shane's truck. Here is what King 5 said:

U.S. Forest Service officer killed in crash
09:04 AM PDT on Wednesday, March 21, 2007
By: BERNARD CHOI / KING 5 News

BUCKLEY, Wash. – A suspected drunk driver involved in a horrific crash that killed a respected law enforcement officer should never have been on the road.
The Washington State Patrol says U.S. Forest Service Officer Shane Wyrsch was driving home on Highway 410 near Buckley Monday night when a pickup crossed the center line and slammed into him head-on. Witnesses say the man who hit Wyrsch was driving very erratically. Troopers say he was likely drunk, and driving with a suspended license.
All that's left of Shane Wyrsch's truck is a mangled pile of metal.

U.S. Forest Service
Shayne Wyrsch was killed in a head-on crash near Buckley Monday night.
The 16-year veteran patrolled the Mount Baker Snoqualmie National Forest and the communities nearby.
"Each and every one is like a brother, and losing Shane will be very similar to losing a family member," said Enumclaw Police Officer Don Banner.
"He lived in this community and anything he could do to further make it a good place to live, he never hesitated," said Enumclaw Police Lieutennant Eric Sortland.
Wyrsch died Tuesday morning, leaving behind a wife, two children and countless colleagues.
A spokesperson says the entire U.S. Forest Service family is devastated by Wyrsch's passing. The State Patrol plans to investigate this as a vehicular homicide.

At Shane's service, one of the speakers said that "it didn't matter how long you knew Shane. You could have met him for a minute, an hour or have known him for years. You would always remember him and take something away from that meeting of him." It's true. Shane had a presence that was huge. Not just because he was a big man, but, he has this, this, "thing" about him. He made you feel like you were special.

Shane loved motorcycles. If you knew him, he'd want to buy you one. When he found out that I bought my TL1000R, he was almost as excited as me. He sent me an email asking me about my bike, what kinds of modifications were on it already, what kind was I going to make, and "here's a picture of my bike with all my mods. Can you see the ..." He even participated in an email campaign with Ed and me to get our other friend Matt to buy the same bike he and I have. Which he, of course, did. He had to! Shane would have never let him live it down if he didn't!

Shane was passionate about everything he participated in, especially his kids. Ed was telling me about an email that Shane had sent him the week before he died with a picture of his boys doing wheelies on their little kiddie bikes. He wrote to Ed, "Man! Look at my kids! They're already doing wheelies! Don't know where they get it though!" He was present in every part of their lives and even looked forward to the time when Zoe had had enough and needed some time off away from the boys. I hope that we can help to make the memory of their dad as clear as we can so they can know him like we did.

I did a lot of thinking on Friday. What is really important in life? What am I doing to make sure that those important things are always in the forefront of my life? What have I not made peace with? If I died tomorrow, would the people that I care about most know that I truly care about them? I just can't live my life taking these things for granted any more. Putting things off is not an option.

So now, my friends, I become the proverbial "freak show". If you are drinking, you will not drive if I have anything to say about it. I will come and get you no matter what time it is or where you are. I will drive you home from the party or you will stay overnight. There will be no arguing.

However, should you choose to argue, my suggestion would be for you to pack a lunch. I'm a big girl and I'm stubborn. It will probably take all day.

Rest in peace, Shane. We miss you.

June 1971-March 2007