Family, colleagues, and community members gathered Monday morning near Gas Works Park to dedicate a new memorial honoring Seattle Police Officer Jackson V. Lone, who died in the line of duty on March 16, 2005.
About 75 people attended the ceremony at the SPD Harbor Patrol station at 1717 N. Northlake Pl., including SPD Chief Shon Barnes, police officers, retirees, and members of Lone’s family.
Lone, a Harbor Patrol officer and 18-year SPD veteran, drowned while attempting to secure a drifting tugboat. The incident occurred in Fremont near Lakeside Industries, where a small stone memorial marks the site today. He was 39.
“He gave what Abraham Lincoln called the full measure of devotion,” Barnes said. “He gave his life in service to others.”
Lone’s name appears on memorial walls in Washington, D.C., and in Olympia, but those locations are not easily visited by the public. The new memorial site was chosen for its connection to the harbor patrol and the water, and because it is accessible to the public around the clock.
Lone’s sister, Laura Tuttle, spoke on behalf of the family. She described Lone as “larger than life” and “known for his sarcasm and humor,” and recalled how a woman whose life Lone saved early in his career attended his 2005 memorial service to express her gratitude.
Lone is survived by his wife, Jeannie, and their son, Dawson, who was 18 months old at the time of his father’s death.The publicly accessible memorial was created as part of the Seattle Police Foundation’s Fallen Officer Memorial Project. It’s engraved with Lone’s badge number 5119 and the words “Husband, Father, Friend, Harborman, Hero.”
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