LAKEPORT, Calif. – Hundreds of people attended a Saturday memorial service that honored the life of a Lake County Sheriff's deputy.
The hour-and-a-half-long service for Deputy Jacob Steely at Don Owens Stadium in Lakeport drew law enforcement and fire agencies from around Northern California.
Steely, a husband and father of five, was in law enforcement for nine years, beginning with the Lakeport Police Department and joining the Lake County Sheriff's Office in early 2010, according to local officials.
On April 18, just eight days after his 39th birthday, Steely was with his family at Mendocino Headlands State Park when, for reasons that are still not entirely clear, he and his 11-year-old son went into the ocean.
Accounts of the incident indicated he was trying to save his son when he was mortally injured – possibly by waves that caused him to hit the rocks. He would be taken to Enloe Hospital in Chico, where he died April 21.
At the noon service, a law enforcement procession of California Highway Patrol motorcycle officers and Lake County Sheriff's Office personnel escorted a limousine with Steely's wife, Lynda, and their children to the field.
After them came a horse-drawn hearse that bore the urn with Steely's cremains, which was placed on a table before the stage, with a bagpiper playing at the beginning of the ceremony.
On Saturday, the emphasis was on his service to the community and his love for people – not just the family, friends and colleagues that were key to his life, but also for the people he encountered in the course of his challenging daily work.
Steely's friend and colleague, Gary Frace, read a poem that he said Steely shared with him, and explained that Steely was his pal and part of his tribe.
Next, Sheriff Brian Martin came to the podium. He thanked Steely's family for allowing him to serve this community. “Having a law enforcement officer in the family is no easy task,” he said, voicing his gratitude for both Steely's service and his family's support.
Martin said the Lake County law enforcement community is a closely knit one, with police officers and deputies often working closely together on the streets.
It was while Martin was a new sergeant that he first met Steely, who physically was a powerful and towering figure. “My first thought when I saw him was, 'I'm really glad that guy is on our side,'” a sentiment that would evolve into, “I'm really proud that guy is on our side.”
Martin said Steely also was a compassionate and kind-hearted person, who treated everyone with respect, even when they weren't respectful of him. He often took time to counsel people who, Martin said, had never had a person in a position of authority take the time to address them as a human being.
Steely was a loving and involved father and a devoted husband who had a true partnership with his wife, Martin said.
“He was the guy who many of us tried to emulate,” and also was a person who would encourage others when they were down, said Martin.
Steely's longtime friend Tim Wynacht was the main speaker during the service, discussing both serious and comical recollections of his friend, as well as the toll his death has taken on his family and the local law enforcement community.
Wynacht recalled Steely's struggles to deal with hurt and lack of hope in the face of the problems he faced during his job. “Everything that's broken is your life,” Wynacht said, summing up the stresses of the profession.
However, he said Steely had attended a seminar that helped him restore his hope and enthusiasm, and at that time he wrote his own obituary, which Lake County published this past week.
In the obituary, Steely wrote that he “lived a life worth living,” found purpose with his wife and children, and “embraced life without grudges or resentment.”
Wynacht urged those who knew and loved Steely to not struggle with the question of why he only had 39 years, but to reframe it, and instead view him as a “39-year gift.”
As the ceremony concluded, there was a three-rifle volley and the playing of “Taps,” by the Lake County Military Funeral Honors Team.
There also was a flyover by a helicopter with a long line and harness underneath it that's used for dropping deputies into remote areas for operations, an activity that Steely enjoyed, it was reported.
A Lake County Sheriff's honor guard folded an American flag which was given to Martin, who along with Undersheriff Chris Macedo presented it to Steely's widow.
Helping to make the event possible was assistance from neighboring law enforcement agencies such as the sheriff's offices of Mendocino and Sonoma counties, who sent personnel to cover patrol and dispatch.
Among those helping to cover shifts on Saturday was Mendocino County Sheriff's Deputy Sean Wristen.
Wristen was the first on the scene on the morning of April 18 after the water rescue of Steely and his son was dispatched at Mendocino Headlands State Park. He told Lake County News that he heard the volunteer fire department was dispatched to the area and he responded, too.
When he arrived, a family member of Steely's told Wristen that Steely and his son were in the water. Wristen said he got an inflatable throw stick from his vehicle and ran down to the bluffs to help.
Since Wristen had recently had shoulder surgery, he had one of Steely's sons throw the flotation device, which they were able to get to the boy. Firefighters later pulled Steely himself from the water and lifeflighted him to Chico.
Wristen, whose brother Matthew was a Lake County Sheriff's deputy from 2000 to 2008, said he was glad that he had been there to assist Steely's family. “I wish I could have done more.”
He added of his service on Saturday, “I'm happy to be able to continue to assist.”
A full video of the service can be seen above, with a photo gallery of the event posted below.
Email Elizabeth Larson at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. . Follow her on Twitter, @ERLarson, or Lake County News, @LakeCoNews.