PLANO, Texas — Carrollton Police Officer Steve Nothem has been laid to rest in Celina, nine days after he was hit and killed during a DWI traffic investigation.
Mourners filled Prestonwood Baptist Church in Plano Thursday afternoon, paying tribute to the 36-year-old husband and the father of four young children.
He was killed Oct. 18 after his squad car was hit by a vehicle as he arrived to assist another officer during a traffic stop in the westbound lanes of the PGBT. The 82-year-old driver of the vehicle that hit him also died at the scene.
At Thursday's funeral service, his widow requested not to be recorded by news cameras inside the sanctuary.
David Prince, of Lewisville, stood at the curb at the church entrance on E. Hebron Parkway, removed his cowboy hat and placed it over his heart each time a police vehicle entered the church parking lot. He stood there for more than an hour. Afterwards, he explained why.
“Pray for the ones that are still here. Pray for the blue," he said, pausing to gather his emotions.
Prince's son is a police officer too.
“Because these people stand in the gap, between the lawless and everybody else. And a lot of time without any thanks," he said.
To thank this officer and his family for his service, police officers and families from across the country attended this funeral.
Nothem moved his family to Texas two years ago from Grand Chute, Wisconsin, a small suburb of Appleton with a community of 24,000 residents and 38 police officers. Eighteen members of the Grand Chute Police Department, including Chief of Police Greg Peterson, attended the funeral Thursday in Plano.
"He was a man of great compassion, sensitivity, empathy," Peterson said of Nothem, whom he personally hired to work on the Grand Chute Police force.
"Nobody I've ever worked with has been as committed to service as Steve Nothem has been. And that's what I think a community has to remember on a day like today," Peterson said. "That's what I would ask of the community is remember that each one of those officers is out there trying to make the community a better place, to improve the quality of life."
And as the funeral procession left Prestonwood Baptist for a private burial in Celina, Sherry Dickie was among several other people who stood across the street from the church to pay her respects.
“I’m here because I feel it’s the very least that I can do if he was willing to die for me, which he did," Dickie said. “But I want them to know that this is America and we love them. I love every one of them.”
"I can't bring him back to life but I want to show the people that are still alive the thin blue line that people do care," Prince added. "We do love them and we are here for them."
Nothem was laid to rest Thursday afternoon at Old Celina Cemetery on Glendenning Parkway.