TINA L. SCOTT
EDITOR
Retired Captain Richard Dabbert. Photo courtesy of Merrill Police Department.
Retired Captain Richard Dabbert, who spent his 32-year career protecting the Merrill community as a well-respected and beloved member of the Merrill Police Department until his retirement in 2006, was laid to rest Monday, Feb. 28, 2022, at Merrill’s Memorial Park Cemetery after a service of thanksgiving for his life at St. Stephens United Church of Christ.
Family, friends, and officers gathered to say their good-byes, with uniformed Merrill Police officers standing watch beside the casket during visitation and escorting their brother in blue from the church to the cemetery, as pallbearers and in squads that accompanied the procession to the cemetery. Dabbert died on Feb. 22, 2022, at the age of 69.
Dabbert became a Police Officer for the Merrill Police Department on May 13, 1974, at age 21. Promoted to Sergeant on Jan. 1, 1982 and then to Lieutenant on Jan. 1, 1986; appointed Safety Director on Apr. 1, 1990; and then promoted to Captain on Apr. 17, 1998, Dabbert devoted 32 years to law enforcement and retired on Dec. 31, 2006. While working with the Police Department, he oversaw the Safety Patrol Program and accomplished getting defibrillators placed in each police vehicle.
As Merrill Police Chief Corey Bennett said in a tribute to Dabbert on the Department’s Facebook page following the funeral, it is impossible to sum up one’s life or their contributions in such a post and, likewise, in a short article. “As the pastor summarily stated at the service, words are incredibly insufficient at times,” Bennett wrote.
“That being said, as we remembered Rich this past week, there was a theme that remained for those of us still here that had the pleasure of working with him,” he wrote. “It’s also something you will not likely read in a conventional leadership book, training seminar, etc.”
“That was his never-ending quiet, calm, and capable personality,” Bennett wrote. “In this profession it’s hard to imagine never having to raise your voice in some situation. Yet, nobody can recall Rich ever having done that. Now, I’m sure it happened, but clearly it happened so infrequently that literally nobody can remember it.”
“That alone speaks to a level of professionalism, confidence, and competence that we all aspire to,” Bennett said. “He led by being the best example to everyone (citizen or coworker) that he could be. Those values and that demeanor will echo forward.”
Described as a “quiet, determined, funny man,” Dabbert spent his retirement years enjoying the things he loved most: family, cooking, community, volunteering, and sports, just to name a few. He volunteered for a variety of charities, including the Food Pantry, Free Clinic, serving on the Hospital Board, and at his church, St. Stephens, where he headed up the Scrip program most recently and had taught Sunday School for many years prior.
He was also an avid sports fan who enjoying playing, watching, and coaching a variety of sports, and he had coached Little League and youth basketball for many years.
Rich Dabbert loved and leaves behind his wife, Nancy, whom he married nearly 44 years ago; two daughters, Kristen and Kari; two granddaughters, Genevieve and Vivian; and siblings, Sharon and Milton, as well as a community of friends and his brothers in blue.
In the words of Police Chief Corey Bennett: “Rich, we thank you for your honorable service to this City during your professional career and, of course, well after through your volunteerism. It required a level of sacrifice not easily found in modern times. Sacrifices which always come with a personal cost.”
“Thank you to the Dabbert family for sharing in those sacrifices and generously sharing Rich with us. He will be missed.”
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