Officers from all across the Pacific Northwest came to pay their respects to Chehalis Police officer Rick Silva on Friday afternoon at W.F. West High School.
Officers from across the Pacific Northwest wore a black and blue patch over their badges while attending the funeral of Chehalis Police officer Rick Silva on Friday morning at W.F. West High School.
Officers salute the flag during the singing of the national anthem at the funeral of Chehalis Police Officer Rick Silva on Friday afternoon at W.F. West High School.
Members of the Seattle Police Pipes and Drums group play at Rick Silva's memorial service on Friday morning in Chehalis.
Members of the Seattle Police Pipes and Drums group prepare to play at Rick Silva's memorial service on Friday morning in Chehalis.
Members of the Chehalis Fire Department take down a large American flag that they hung over Market Street during the funeral procession for Chehalis Police officer Rick Silva on Friday morning.
Members of the Chehalis Fire Department take down a large American flag that they hung over Market Street during the funeral procession for Chehalis Police officer Rick Silva on Friday morning.
The Washington State Patrol Honor Guard prepares to escort the family of Rick Silva out of the W.F. West gymnasium at the end of the memorial service held for the former Chehalis Police officer on Friday morning.
More than 500 people gathered Friday morning at W.F. West High School to bid a heartfelt and tearful goodbye to Chehalis Police Officer Rick Silva.
“The attendance here today is a testament to how Rick lived and how much he was loved,” said Chief Glenn Schaffer of the Chehalis Police Department.
Silva, 60, died June 18, one day before his 13th anniversary with the Chehalis Police Department. He died at Providence Centralia Hospital as a result of complications from surgery to correct a hip injury sustained while on duty in February.
He received a traditional memorial service for a police officer who dies in the line of duty. Schaffer called the ceremony “steeped in tradition and honors.”
Chaplain Betty Kitchen gave the ceremony’s invocation and read from the Gospel of John.
“We thank you for this time set apart today to honor a friend, a colleague — Officer Rick Silva, badge number 117,” Kitchen prayed.
Schaffer was the first speaker to address the audience, and called the Silva family’s strength in the past week “inspiring.”
“I believe what Rick would want for us today is to not dwell on the sadness,” he said.
Before the 11 a.m. memorial, law enforcement officers escorted Silva’s family to W.F. West High School in a procession starting at about 9:45 a.m. Residents and workers lined the streets of Chehalis to watch the procession. Members of the Chehalis Fire Department suspended a United States Flag between two ladder trucks along the procession route.
The memorial included prayer, music, and speeches from several of Silva’s colleagues and friends. Silva’s family did not speak publicly, but gave statements and poems to speakers to read for them.
Joe Doench, a retired Lewis County Sheriff’s Office chief criminal deputy, spoke about Silva at the memorial, recalling their friendship as junior high school students and as adults.
Doench told the audience about Silva’s life before he became a law enforcement officer, and recounted one story about the two of them at Seattle International Raceway.
Doench said Silva asked him to sit in the back of his hot rod to balance it during a race.
“I don’t know what was louder, his motor or my screaming,” he said.
Doench, a sheriff’s deputy at the time, invited Silva to come out for a ride-along. Not long after, Silva decided to pursue the career himself.
“I personally thought he’d be a natural,” Doench said. “He was tough as nails, honest and liked to drive really fast.”
Schaffer praised Silva’s compassion and sensitivity, talked about his dedication to the Shop with a Cop program and added that he saw Silva as a “dear friend,” who he enjoyed spending time with.
“He never left without bragging about his family and he never left without making me laugh,” Schaffer said.
Silva was a deputy in the Lewis County Sheriff’s Office from 1988 to 2002, when he started working at the Chehalis Police Department.
Chehalis Mayor, and former Chehalis Police Chief, Dennis Dawes also spoke, recalling his time working with Silva.
“I can proudly say I was the one who hired him in 2002 and boy, was that an easy decision to make,” he said.
Dawes was among several speakers to praise Silva’s empathy and integrity.
“Whether you were a victim or a suspect, you were treated with compassion, fairness and respect,” he said.
Lewis County Sheriff Rob Snaza also gave an emotional tribute to his long-time colleague.
“Rick touched a lot of lives,” he said. “I looked up to Rick.”
Deputy Kevin Anderson read several statements and poems from Silva’s family. Chaplain Dan Nolta said he didn’t know Silva, but was honored to be asked to speak at the memorial.
“You are the heart and soul of police officers in this country,” he said of small-town police officers.
Officers gave Silva a 21-bell salute Seattle Police Pipes and Drums helped close the ceremony with “Amazing Grace.”
Officers from local law enforcement agencies, the Washington State Patrol, the Border Patrol and from police departments and sheriff’s offices as far as Ellensburg and Portland, Oregon came to the ceremony.
“We share your grief and understand how deep your loss is,” Dawes said to Silva’s family. “I have no doubt they will be here for you.”
Snaza also pledged his support for Silva’s family.
“You are family and we will take care of you,” he said.
