A "TRUE HERO' HONORED AT FUNERAL OFFICER DOCKWEILER HAD "GREAT COURAGE'
Family and friends cried Thursday for Fresno police officer Jeffery "Doc" Mark Dockweiler, described as a good man who loved God and people and fought evil.
Dockweiler was buried at Clovis Cemetery after seven riflemen fired three volleys into the cold air, a bugler sounded taps and a bagpiper played "Amazing Grace." He died Jan. 16 at his Auberry home of heart disease. He was 37. "He was a man of great courage and a man of love," said Patricia Dockweiler, who buried her husband in a blue and silver casket near a crooked pine tree.
She selected the isolated site because the family's property in Auberry has a crooked tree that was a favorite of the fallen officer's. Family and friends said Dockweiler, who joined the Fresno Police Department in February 1990, loved riding horses, listening to country-western music and eating.
Most of all, he was devoted to his wife, Patricia, and sons, Kevin and Justin. "She was the love of his life," said Fresno police officer John Herring, a close friend of the family. "He would call her two or three times a shift or when she paged him." While others pretend to be cowboys, Herring said, Dockweiler was one - wearing cowboy boots to work and riding horses afterward. He said Dockweiler loved to ride his horses from his foothill home to a mountaintop overlooking the Valley. "That was his heaven," he said.
About 600 people attended the funeral service, which began at Peoples Church in northeast Fresno. There, his body lay in an open casket among flowers. Next to his head was an American flag.
He wore a blue police uniform, and pinned to his chest was the Van Meter Award, which is given to on-duty officers who suffer life-threatening injuries.
Police Chief Ed Winchester told the hushed crowd that Dockweiler was an exceptional officer who bounced back from adversity.
He then described how Dockweiler was shot in the mouth June 18, 1993. The bullet pierced his upper lip and shattered his teeth, and fragments lodged near his spine. The gunman, Johnny Malarkey, later pleaded guilty to attempted murder and is serving a 25-year prison term.
"He had great mental and physical courage," Winchester said of Dockweiler. "That bullet would have ended the career of most police officers. But not Jeff's. He was back to work after five months."
Patricia Dockweiler spoke of her husband's devotion to God, family, friends and the community, especially in helping troubled children.
"He was always positive about everything he did," she said. "Now I leave you in Jehovah God's hands, and I look orward to the day when I will see you again," she said. "I love you, my darling." He was born July 20, 1960, in Norwich, Conn., to Melvina and Orville Dockweiler. He attended Kerman High School, Fresno City College and California State University, Fresno.
His lifelong goal, according close friend, Fresno police officer Tom Hardin, was to work for the Fresno Police Department.
Hardin told the Peoples Church audience that he will always remember Dockweiler every time he see movies starring Mel Gibson, Kevin Costner, Robert Redford and Dennis Quaid.
"Doc was a real cowboy with muscles on muscles. He was a loving husband and devoted family man. He put bad guys in jail and when he rode off into the sunset he tipped his hat. "Doc was a true hero," Hardin said. Among the crowd were nearly 300 uniformed officers from the Fresno Police Department, Fresno County Sheriff's Department, the California Highway Patrol and elsewhere.
They wore black bands over their badges, walked past the open casket to pay last respects, and stood at attention when the casket was placed in the hearse and during the 21-gun salute, taps and "Amazing Grace."
Many of them had attended the recent funeral of Visalia police officer James Rapozo, 33, who was killed Jan. 9 during a SWAT raid that also left Rapozo's accused killer, Alfonso Hernandez, 16, dead. " Police are like one large family," Fresno police Capt. Marty West said. "When an officer dies, no matter where he works, it affects us all."
Family and friends cried Thursday for Fresno police officer Jeffery "Doc" Mark Dockweiler, described as a good man who loved God and people and fought evil.
Dockweiler was buried at Clovis Cemetery after seven riflemen fired three volleys into the cold air, a bugler sounded taps and a bagpiper played "Amazing Grace." He died Jan. 16 at his Auberry home of heart disease. He was 37. "He was a man of great courage and a man of love," said Patricia Dockweiler, who buried her husband in a blue and silver casket near a crooked pine tree.
She selected the isolated site because the family's property in Auberry has a crooked tree that was a favorite of the fallen officer's. Family and friends said Dockweiler, who joined the Fresno Police Department in February 1990, loved riding horses, listening to country-western music and eating.
Most of all, he was devoted to his wife, Patricia, and sons, Kevin and Justin. "She was the love of his life," said Fresno police officer John Herring, a close friend of the family. "He would call her two or three times a shift or when she paged him." While others pretend to be cowboys, Herring said, Dockweiler was one - wearing cowboy boots to work and riding horses afterward. He said Dockweiler loved to ride his horses from his foothill home to a mountaintop overlooking the Valley. "That was his heaven," he said.
About 600 people attended the funeral service, which began at Peoples Church in northeast Fresno. There, his body lay in an open casket among flowers. Next to his head was an American flag.
He wore a blue police uniform, and pinned to his chest was the Van Meter Award, which is given to on-duty officers who suffer life-threatening injuries.
Police Chief Ed Winchester told the hushed crowd that Dockweiler was an exceptional officer who bounced back from adversity.
He then described how Dockweiler was shot in the mouth June 18, 1993. The bullet pierced his upper lip and shattered his teeth, and fragments lodged near his spine. The gunman, Johnny Malarkey, later pleaded guilty to attempted murder and is serving a 25-year prison term.
"He had great mental and physical courage," Winchester said of Dockweiler. "That bullet would have ended the career of most police officers. But not Jeff's. He was back to work after five months."
Patricia Dockweiler spoke of her husband's devotion to God, family, friends and the community, especially in helping troubled children.
"He was always positive about everything he did," she said. "Now I leave you in Jehovah God's hands, and I look orward to the day when I will see you again," she said. "I love you, my darling." He was born July 20, 1960, in Norwich, Conn., to Melvina and Orville Dockweiler. He attended Kerman High School, Fresno City College and California State University, Fresno.
His lifelong goal, according close friend, Fresno police officer Tom Hardin, was to work for the Fresno Police Department.
Hardin told the Peoples Church audience that he will always remember Dockweiler every time he see movies starring Mel Gibson, Kevin Costner, Robert Redford and Dennis Quaid.
"Doc was a real cowboy with muscles on muscles. He was a loving husband and devoted family man. He put bad guys in jail and when he rode off into the sunset he tipped his hat. "Doc was a true hero," Hardin said. Among the crowd were nearly 300 uniformed officers from the Fresno Police Department, Fresno County Sheriff's Department, the California Highway Patrol and elsewhere.
They wore black bands over their badges, walked past the open casket to pay last respects, and stood at attention when the casket was placed in the hearse and during the 21-gun salute, taps and "Amazing Grace."
Many of them had attended the recent funeral of Visalia police officer James Rapozo, 33, who was killed Jan. 9 during a SWAT raid that also left Rapozo's accused killer, Alfonso Hernandez, 16, dead. " Police are like one large family," Fresno police Capt. Marty West said. "When an officer dies, no matter where he works, it affects us all."
A "TRUE HERO' HONORED AT FUNERAL OFFICER DOCKWEILER HAD "GREAT COURAGE'
Family and friends cried Thursday for Fresno police officer Jeffery "Doc" Mark Dockweiler, described as a good man who loved God and people and fought evil.
Dockweiler was buried at Clovis Cemetery after seven riflemen fired three volleys into the cold air, a bugler sounded taps and a bagpiper played "Amazing Grace." He died Jan. 16 at his Auberry home of heart disease. He was 37. "He was a man of great courage and a man of love," said Patricia Dockweiler, who buried her husband in a blue and silver casket near a crooked pine tree.
She selected the isolated site because the family's property in Auberry has a crooked tree that was a favorite of the fallen officer's. Family and friends said Dockweiler, who joined the Fresno Police Department in February 1990, loved riding horses, listening to country-western music and eating.
Most of all, he was devoted to his wife, Patricia, and sons, Kevin and Justin. "She was the love of his life," said Fresno police officer John Herring, a close friend of the family. "He would call her two or three times a shift or when she paged him." While others pretend to be cowboys, Herring said, Dockweiler was one - wearing cowboy boots to work and riding horses afterward. He said Dockweiler loved to ride his horses from his foothill home to a mountaintop overlooking the Valley. "That was his heaven," he said.
About 600 people attended the funeral service, which began at Peoples Church in northeast Fresno. There, his body lay in an open casket among flowers. Next to his head was an American flag.
He wore a blue police uniform, and pinned to his chest was the Van Meter Award, which is given to on-duty officers who suffer life-threatening injuries.
Police Chief Ed Winchester told the hushed crowd that Dockweiler was an exceptional officer who bounced back from adversity.
He then described how Dockweiler was shot in the mouth June 18, 1993. The bullet pierced his upper lip and shattered his teeth, and fragments lodged near his spine. The gunman, Johnny Malarkey, later pleaded guilty to attempted murder and is serving a 25-year prison term.
"He had great mental and physical courage," Winchester said of Dockweiler. "That bullet would have ended the career of most police officers. But not Jeff's. He was back to work after five months."
Patricia Dockweiler spoke of her husband's devotion to God, family, friends and the community, especially in helping troubled children.
"He was always positive about everything he did," she said. "Now I leave you in Jehovah God's hands, and I look orward to the day when I will see you again," she said. "I love you, my darling." He was born July 20, 1960, in Norwich, Conn., to Melvina and Orville Dockweiler. He attended Kerman High School, Fresno City College and California State University, Fresno.
His lifelong goal, according close friend, Fresno police officer Tom Hardin, was to work for the Fresno Police Department.
Hardin told the Peoples Church audience that he will always remember Dockweiler every time he see movies starring Mel Gibson, Kevin Costner, Robert Redford and Dennis Quaid.
"Doc was a real cowboy with muscles on muscles. He was a loving husband and devoted family man. He put bad guys in jail and when he rode off into the sunset he tipped his hat. "Doc was a true hero," Hardin said. Among the crowd were nearly 300 uniformed officers from the Fresno Police Department, Fresno County Sheriff's Department, the California Highway Patrol and elsewhere.
They wore black bands over their badges, walked past the open casket to pay last respects, and stood at attention when the casket was placed in the hearse and during the 21-gun salute, taps and "Amazing Grace."
Many of them had attended the recent funeral of Visalia police officer James Rapozo, 33, who was killed Jan. 9 during a SWAT raid that also left Rapozo's accused killer, Alfonso Hernandez, 16, dead. " Police are like one large family," Fresno police Capt. Marty West said. "When an officer dies, no matter where he works, it affects us all."
Family and friends cried Thursday for Fresno police officer Jeffery "Doc" Mark Dockweiler, described as a good man who loved God and people and fought evil.
Dockweiler was buried at Clovis Cemetery after seven riflemen fired three volleys into the cold air, a bugler sounded taps and a bagpiper played "Amazing Grace." He died Jan. 16 at his Auberry home of heart disease. He was 37. "He was a man of great courage and a man of love," said Patricia Dockweiler, who buried her husband in a blue and silver casket near a crooked pine tree.
She selected the isolated site because the family's property in Auberry has a crooked tree that was a favorite of the fallen officer's. Family and friends said Dockweiler, who joined the Fresno Police Department in February 1990, loved riding horses, listening to country-western music and eating.
Most of all, he was devoted to his wife, Patricia, and sons, Kevin and Justin. "She was the love of his life," said Fresno police officer John Herring, a close friend of the family. "He would call her two or three times a shift or when she paged him." While others pretend to be cowboys, Herring said, Dockweiler was one - wearing cowboy boots to work and riding horses afterward. He said Dockweiler loved to ride his horses from his foothill home to a mountaintop overlooking the Valley. "That was his heaven," he said.
About 600 people attended the funeral service, which began at Peoples Church in northeast Fresno. There, his body lay in an open casket among flowers. Next to his head was an American flag.
He wore a blue police uniform, and pinned to his chest was the Van Meter Award, which is given to on-duty officers who suffer life-threatening injuries.
Police Chief Ed Winchester told the hushed crowd that Dockweiler was an exceptional officer who bounced back from adversity.
He then described how Dockweiler was shot in the mouth June 18, 1993. The bullet pierced his upper lip and shattered his teeth, and fragments lodged near his spine. The gunman, Johnny Malarkey, later pleaded guilty to attempted murder and is serving a 25-year prison term.
"He had great mental and physical courage," Winchester said of Dockweiler. "That bullet would have ended the career of most police officers. But not Jeff's. He was back to work after five months."
Patricia Dockweiler spoke of her husband's devotion to God, family, friends and the community, especially in helping troubled children.
"He was always positive about everything he did," she said. "Now I leave you in Jehovah God's hands, and I look orward to the day when I will see you again," she said. "I love you, my darling." He was born July 20, 1960, in Norwich, Conn., to Melvina and Orville Dockweiler. He attended Kerman High School, Fresno City College and California State University, Fresno.
His lifelong goal, according close friend, Fresno police officer Tom Hardin, was to work for the Fresno Police Department.
Hardin told the Peoples Church audience that he will always remember Dockweiler every time he see movies starring Mel Gibson, Kevin Costner, Robert Redford and Dennis Quaid.
"Doc was a real cowboy with muscles on muscles. He was a loving husband and devoted family man. He put bad guys in jail and when he rode off into the sunset he tipped his hat. "Doc was a true hero," Hardin said. Among the crowd were nearly 300 uniformed officers from the Fresno Police Department, Fresno County Sheriff's Department, the California Highway Patrol and elsewhere.
They wore black bands over their badges, walked past the open casket to pay last respects, and stood at attention when the casket was placed in the hearse and during the 21-gun salute, taps and "Amazing Grace."
Many of them had attended the recent funeral of Visalia police officer James Rapozo, 33, who was killed Jan. 9 during a SWAT raid that also left Rapozo's accused killer, Alfonso Hernandez, 16, dead. " Police are like one large family," Fresno police Capt. Marty West said. "When an officer dies, no matter where he works, it affects us all."
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