484 hero tributes

Dan McCartney was what you would call a LOYAL CUSTOMER. I first met McCartney at Staples while printing our menus for Consistent Cups the week before we opened. I picked up my menus from him and he was intrigued lol, asking me what this was? Where was this opening. I told him. He said he would come by, I thought it to be polite talk. Honestly I didn’t think he truly would, but their he was opening day to boot. A man of his word lol, and the rest we say is history… He came through EVERY DAY. When McCartney got his job at the Hoquiam P.D. I was super excited for him. Actually he was such a good customer and friend by that point, I gave him a drink on me. I thought I might not see him as much, but after leaving Staples he still made the trip to get coffee at Aberdeen Consistent Cups EVERYDAY on his way to work…. And EVERYDAY on his morning home from a long night he would stop in to bring his wife a cup. I still remember their drinks. Now I knew McCartney better than I knew his wife, you see he ALWAYS got her drink for her. I will say I did feel a connection to her though, as we were expecting during the same time. McCartney would come through and we would share experiences. His oldest son is the same age as my oldest daughter. His youngest son the same age as my youngest daughter. I was just starting my career and so was he. We had so many parallels how could we not relate to each other?? I will tell you with 100% honesty McCartney was more excited about my second location in Hoquiam than I was. Excited for his drinks now closer to work, but also for my business, for the success of me. And that was just the kind of guy he was. I’ll never forget my first day open in Hoquiam. It was October 10th 2013 I was in the back grabbing some muffins when I heard the loudest “WHOOOOOOP YEAHHHH” coming from my service window. To be quite honest it scared the wits right out of me! I expected to have a slow start and this whooping and hollering was just 6 minutes after I opened on my first day…. Well I rush up front to see McCartney ear to ear grin on his face… loud as can be “I bet I am more excited about this than your are!” he chuckled as I told him he scared the literal out of me…I had to agree with him, as I did not start my day whooping and hollering; he laughed and got his white chocolate, and for the next 2 years he was even more a part of my life. He would stop by if he saw me in “his” stand during off hours, just to make sure nothing was wrong. With a friendly joke to shake off his concern “What would I do if my stand was closed due to a burglary?”. He would keep us informed of dangerous people around the area. And if no one was around he would hang and talk about life. I spoke with him daily about personal life happenings such as purchasing my first home, my business, or our town. We would talk about things like his career, his CrossFit at the timber gym, and honestly drugs. Oh how he hated seeing our towns slowly waste away with homelessness and drugs. He kept me informed every step of the way as he began to move his family out of our area. We were all sooo sad. The following two years after he transferred to Pierce county we were still blessed with their visits. That is until his home finally sold and he came by both locations to tell us goodbye. We made him promise to visit. He assured us he would, and that was that. When I saw the news headlines Monday morning I will admit something I am not very proud of. The screen read “Pierce County officer killed” I went through the selfish mental process of “Does this affect me?”, you know the process of elimination. I said, “Okay pierce county, I don’t know any officers in pierce county, phew.” You must understand I am not saying any death is to be taken lightly, but at that moment I thought I was spared from personal tragedy. I went through my day like normal, it was not until 5:45pm that one of my employees told us all. It slithered down my spine like a poisonous thick inky darkness….… wait I know that face… wait I know this man… wait what the hell is going on. This can’t be happening, no no no. I don’t know any officers in Peirce County. I am remembering his life and what it meant to me… what he shared with me…. seeing a hospital band on his wrist and being worried for his son. He had to reassure us “everything was alright….Jeesh” I remember him bringing home his two younger children from the hospital and how ecstatic he was. The days following coming to pick up his wife’s coffee and preen over his little bundles. I remember his humor, quick tongue and wit. with a half-smile on his face and the last word in edgewise. We love to joke around at Consistent Cups and both of us were good sports about giving and receiving this banter. You see I remember sooo much but not enough at the same time. If my brain could have only known that these interactions 3 years later were too important to lose, I would have been forever grateful. We all miss you Dan the man.

I was clerking at Hoquiam Municipal Court. Dan came in one morning as I was headed upstairs to set up the courtroom. He had his coffee; and I believe Dennis had his. I said "Thank you, that was so nice of you-you brought me coffee". They looked at each other and I broke the silence with "kidding"!! Dan had completed the bicycle patrol training and I challenged him to ride his bike up the back stairs to the courtroom and not use the elevator. We all laughed. What a great man and an awesome example of a human being. His blue family loves him. Gone and never forgotten.

Uncle D as I called him, was someone to look up to, having a personality like no other with a humble heart, determined mind to get anything done, and a tender heart to his family. I remember asking him about all the exciting parts about his job as a cop and I enjoyed listening to all of the action. My uncle was devoted to God and made his decisions with the help and wisdom of God. He made God first in every circumstance and trusted in him at all times on and off the job. Every time I see his kids (my cousins), I see how he has passed his character traits down to them and how they will have an impact on the people around them. I believe that he was a person everyone should look up to using his motto “Just Keep Moving” to work through life's difficulties. I hope his story is told throughout the years and that he can impact others in how he chose to live life. Love you!

Dan, I miss you tons, brother. As time has passed, the sadness has drifted and the fun memories have come to the forefront. That’s the way I want to remember you. Like the time I had you help me reconstruct a crash. I asked you to do a 50mph pass by so I could mark time….you chose to see if you could get up to 90mph instead. Or the month we doubled up on graveyard. I had so much fun shaggin’ calls with you. But your constant talk about CrossFit led me to put a sticky note up on the dash to keep tally marks of how many times you talked about a WOD. You were a great cop and amazing man. You’re always remembered. Love you brother.

I have thought about this so much. I don’t know if I should share a funny story or do a sad emotional post so I’m going to do both. Daniel, I miss you dude, even when I didn’t want to hear you trying to talk me into starting CrossFit, I miss roadsiding with you “at the line” in the pouring down rain in the middle of the night. I miss seeing you at our monthly training with the team, including the time I was lucky enough to beat you by 10 seconds on our PT test and how MAD you were that I beat you!!! I have no idea how I did it. You must of had the flu or something. I have never ever looked at rabbits the same since those crazy rabbits that wouldn’t leave us alone when the dude was shooting out of his house and we were on the 2/3 corner (that’s for you Rob) trying to get a shot. I still question why God took you from this world way too soon. You were better than most, a better man than me for sure. I can’t help but think of how many people have had their life touched by you and your story. I can only hope that Cierra and the boys loss, pain, and sacrifice was part of a master plan I’ll probably never understand. Love you bro.

It's hard to believe it's been five years since that tragic day in January 2018, when Daniel was taken from our family, his friends and the community he bravely served. I think of Dan often and about what he might be doing if he were still with us today. Perhaps working as a detective or on the SWAT team or competing in the CrossFit competitions. Maybe coaching the boys in sports and working with Cierra to raise them with strong Christian values. I miss spending time with Dan during trips to visit my family in Washington. I miss the witty banter we had and hearing him recount every detail of the arrests he had made since we last spoke. Or explaining to me in great detail some electronic gadget he had acquired. Dan was such an incredibly bright guy. Being a cop myself, I wanted to see him grow and mature in his career. I wanted to be able to offer advice and encouragement along the way. Despite being taken from us way too soon, Dan left an incredible legacy. His light shines through his three boys and I see him when I look at pictures of them. I still follow Yelm Cross Fit Gym on Facebook and have a sense of pride when I see pictures of people working out with Daniel's picture on the wall behind them. Dan helped inspire my own fitness journey and to this day, when I'm grinding through a grueling workout I catch myself repeating Daniel's mantra over and over again in my head just keep moving. Dan's moral compass was so strong, which seems to be a more and more unique character trait these days. In his relatively short time in this world, Dan created an impact that will endure for years to come. He is truly missed.

Daniel inspired me to be better both in the gym and at work but when I think about his greatest accomplishments and his legacy I think of Titus, Traxton, and Tate. Every time I see them I see Daniel and Gods hands at work. His legacy lives through them.

"My friend, Coach and fellow LEO we miss you dearly. Your smile walking into the gym was always so big and inviting. Your stories of all the crazy things you did at work that evening. Seeing you with your boys at the gym and watching them do pull ups with you. You are our Hero in so many ways. You’d be so proud of all your athletes and how they still smile and say your name as they move through their workouts “Just keep Moving” we do it in your memory. Love and miss you. May God bless your family as they make their way through this world knowing your Love for them."

"Dan and I both shared a passion for video games and movies. He was a playstation guy and I was an Xbox guy. I remember we would have these LAN parties and I had a spare xbox 360 for him to use. He could not stand creating an Xbox Live account with the stack of free two day trial cards I had! But after the pain of having to use an Xbox. Dan was a gamer to the core and he those. Xbox controls down quick! It would also not be a game night without his high intensity gaming energy, focus, and I will never forget his infectious laughter. Battlefield Bad Company Two and our Clan tag (5.11) was some of the best gaming and friendship moments I have. Thanks for being my squad mate, Battlefield gaming team member, movie companion, and my friend."

"Daniel will forever be my friend whom I miss. Thank you for living a life that caused a ripple and living your faith out loud. When I think of you I often think back to a post you made regarding Psalms 118:6, The Lord is with me; I am not afraid; what can mortals do against me? and your statement regarding that scripture of, "I have often worried about what others may say, do, or think about me or my decisions in life. These thoughts creep in the shadowy fog of the back of my mind. But mere mortals have no say in my life's outcome. The One who is in control will dictate my success, not some doubting naysayers lurking beyond me!" " #meremortals #futuresuccess #Lamptomyfeet #arrowstomyenemy " Do the righteous thing!"