Terrance Siemon\/The Journal<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p>Community members and law enforcement officials from across the region crowded into the rec center, filing into chairs across the basketball court. Flowers sprouted on the track above the floor and on the sides of a podium up front.<\/p>\n
The ceremony was marked by tradition and included a rifle salute and flag presentation. Country music played as visitors entered, and a photo slideshow beamed from a big screen.<\/p>\n
Speakers recalled Lane as an honorable and loyal man with great love for his family.<\/p>\n
Cortez Police Chaplain Dave Guy spoke of his faith, compassion and humor, and of \u201cgiants\u201d he faced, including cancer.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe held people accountable, but it was always towards the end of them being a better person,\u201d Guy said.<\/p>\n
Lane found his purpose in Cortez, and served it wholeheartedly, Guy said.<\/p>\n
Lt. Andy Brock, interim police chief, traced Lane\u2019s path through the ranks, starting as a deputy in Winslow, Arizona, a police chief in Holbrook, Arizona, and finally as police chief in Cortez. Gov. Jared Polis issued an official proclamation, one of many accolades Lane received over the years, including the Pat Steele Award from the Colorado Association of Chiefs of Police in 2016.<\/p>\n
In addition to his police work, Lane was dedicated to the community, Brock said, pointing to his nonprofit work and support of sports teams.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe quietly served others,\u201d Brock said.<\/p>\n
Roy Lane\u2019s son, R.C. Lane of Champaign, Illinois, spoke of his father as a role model who was \u201calways there.\u201d R.C. Lane is a firefighter in Urbana, Illinois.<\/span>Terrance Siemon\/The Journal<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p>Lane\u2019s children shared personal stories of Roy Lane the father and role model, and the pride he took in his children and grandchildren. They also shared his love for the Chicago Cubs, Ford trucks and country music.<\/p>\n
He would proudly showcase his grandchildren\u2019s artwork, shared their accomplishments with fellow officers and always attended important events, no matter the distance, they said.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe was my person, my foundation, my peace,\u201d Brito said. \u201cI loved him so much. He was the absolute best dad.\u201d<\/p>\n
The ceremony concluded with Lane\u2019s last police call, aired over dispatch and played at the gym.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis is the last call for C1, Cortez Police Chief Roy C. Lane,\u201d it stated. \u201cChief Roy C. Lane is out of service after 54 years of dedicated police service. Although you are gone, you will never be forgotten.\u201d<\/p>\n
After the service, attendees shared fond memories of Lane.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe really relied on his immense knowledge,\u201d said Durango Police Chief Bob Brammer. \u201cHe was in law enforcement longer than many of us have been alive, and he shared that experience with us. It helped us improve our department. What stood out for me was his professionalism.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cRoy was really a solid guy, a lot of us worked with him since he arrived here in 1981,\u201d said Cortez Fire Department Chief Jay Balfour. \u201cHe left a positive impression and worked with people to solve problems. Away from the job, we would enjoy watching the kids and grandkids play sports.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHe was a staple of our community. He understood the importance of training and improving communication (systems) that all the different departments rely on,\u201d added Mancos Fire Chief Tony Aspromonte.<\/p>\n
It was comforting to have Lane in the meeting, recalled former Cortez city manager Shane Hale.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen things got contentious, he would exert a calm that others would follow. He led by example,\u201d he said. \u201cI learned a lot from Roy about police departments. He was a good friend, and I kept in touch with him regularly. He will be missed.\u201d<\/p>\n
Many recalled Lane\u2019s reliable work ethic, and \u201cglass is half-full\u201d attitude.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe was easy to work with, and we all really appreciate all he has done. What I noticed is how he worked with people in a positive way,\u201d said Montezuma County Commissioner Jim Candelaria. \u201cIt\u2019s a great loss.\u201d<\/p>\n
Cortez Councilman Mike Lavey remembers Lane as being everywhere in the 30 years he knew him \u2013 on the job, at high school and youth games, at meetings, promoting good causes, and finding the humor in situations when the time was right.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe was an inspiration to me, to us all,\u201d Lavey said. \u201cHe would find the best in people, which probably can be a challenge at times working as a policeman.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat I saw is that he could relate to all different kinds of people. He had this helpful, kind way about him. It was impressive his efforts to help the homeless.\u201d<\/p>\n
Officers walk outside the Cortez Recreation Center before the memorial service for Cortez Police Chief Roy Lane.<\/span>Terrance Siemon\/The Journal<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p>Governor\u2019s Proclamation (PDF)<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Longtime Chief Roy Lane honored for service, remembered as loving family man<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":65342,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[21,28,445],"naviga_topic":[],"class_list":["post-65341","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","tag-cortez","tag-headlines","tag-newsletter-lead"],"acf":[],"author_name":"dh_admin","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/65341","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=65341"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/65341\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":90987,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/65341\/revisions\/90987"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/65342"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=65341"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=65341"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=65341"},{"taxonomy":"naviga_topic","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/naviga_topic?post=65341"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}