As Akron police Capt. Sylvia Trundle pulled her cruiser up to a home on Tuesday, the shadow of a small woman in the front-facing window hurried to the door.
Trundle and her husband, retired Tallmadge police Sgt. Marc Trundle, reached for a small, red-wrapped basket from the backseat and headed for the door, which swung open as they approached. Inside the doorway was Ginny Black, widow of Akron police Capt. Ron Black, who died in November 2014 after a bout with cancer.
Ginny Black succumbed to tearful gratitude almost instantly.
“I hope you know how much this means to me that no one’s forgotten Ronnie,” said Black, taking the Trundles in for hugs before accepting the small basket of goodies. “It was my biggest fear that he might be forgotten.”
Capt. Trundle smiled warmly. She had served under Capt. Black with Akron police for years.
“You were part of the family, too,” Trundle said.
Black beamed through misty eyes.
“I see that now,” she said.
The stop at Black’s Akron home was one of about 150 deliveries of baskets made by about a dozen police officers on Tuesday to retired, ill and disabled police officers, firefighters and paramedics, as well as the families of safety workers who have died.
The delivery of gifts is a once-a-year event, organized by the Furnace Street Mission’s Safety Forces Chaplaincy Center and Akron’s Victim Assistance Program. The baskets, which were provided through donations, were filled with jams, nuts, candies and cinnamon rolls. They’re delivered near Christmas as an extension of the holiday spirit.
But the contents of the baskets aren’t what’s important, said the Rev. Bob Denton, who serves as the chaplaincy’s executive director.
“It’s the perfect way to say we remember and honor your service,” Denton said.
The gift delivery has been a staple of Summit County’s safety worker community for about five years. Before that, organizers delivered only to victims of crimes who were “adopted” by the Victim Assistance Program. The event still provides to victims, but has expanded under the chaplaincy’s leadership to provide to police as well.
“The feedback has been incredibly positive,” Denton said.
Aside from the Black residence, the Trundles also delivered gifts to a retired Akron police officer and the family of a young Boston Heights officer who was killed in the line of duty.
The retired officer, Ed Rainey, was described by both as “a legend.”
“One of our guys used to say you couldn’t get into an elevator with Ed without the door closing and you getting a good sock to your arm,” Sgt. Trundle said. “He was a master jokester.”
In Rainey’s holiday-decorated living room in Tallmadge, the veteran officer reflected on his time with the force and shared stories with the Trundles.
“We used to have a lot of fun,” said Rainey, who retired in 1995 with 30 years on the force. “But my nephew works for the police now, and he says there’s no time for fun anymore — it’s all work, call after call after call.”
A somber look crossed his face.
“It’s changed a lot.”
The Trundles agreed. The sheer volume of calls to police has spiked since the 1990s, they said.
Hands were shaken and thanks were exchanged, and then the Trundles headed to their next destination. The quiet house they approached in Hudson was the home of Tom Dean, father of fallen Boston Heights officer Jarod Dean.
Jarod Dean was just 24 when he died in 2009. He was clearing crash debris from state Route 8 when he was struck by a truck.
“We never could have expected that,” Dean said of his son’s death.
But Sgt. Trundle said working in traffic is perhaps the most dangerous part of police work.
“People think police are most likely to die in the line of duty by getting shot,” he said, “but it’s much more likely that it will happen by a traffic accident or something similar.”
Dean said his son — despite the dangers — had wanted to be a police officer since he was 12 or 13 years old. He died doing what he loved, his father said.
“He was very proud of what he was doing,” Dean said. “It’s what he always wanted to do.”
Still, the officer’s death weighs heavy in his father’s heart even after almost seven years. He still worries about another of his sons, John Dean, who works as a Hudson police officer.
“Make no mistake,” Dean told the captain and sergeant, “whenever my son leaves for work, I tell him to make sure he’s safe. Hudson is a very safe place, but what happened to Jarod showed me that bad things can happen anywhere.”
Afterward, Sgt. Trundle said he was glad to be a part of dropping off the gifts each year.
“You don’t realize how important it is to these families to be remembered,” he said. “They start to get misty-eyed, and it’s a great feeling to know they appreciate it that much.”
Nick Glunt can be reached at 330-996-3565 or nglunt@thebeaconjournal.com. Follow him on Twitter @NickGluntABJ.