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Life Without Randy

Craig Civale reports

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• 4/2: Hit-and-run leads to officer's death
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• VIDEO: Sgt. Randy White funeral service
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DECATUR — Bridgeport police Sgt. Randy White was called "fearless" for the way he patrolled the streets; fearless even in his final action — trying to move innocent motorists out of the path of a high-speed police pursuit.

"Fearless" could also be used to describe White's widow, Janet. She survived cancer, and is now forced to move on without her husband, who died when the suspect's vehicle crashed into his squad car on April 2.

"I kissed and hugged him that morning," Janet White remembered. "When he went to work that day, I told him I loved him."

That was her daily routine, but tucked away in her mind was always that nagging fear — the fear shared by all spouses of a police officer — a fear that became reality after she received a phone call from her dad.

"He said, 'I need you to pull over on the side of the road.' I said, 'Does this have anything to do with what I just heard on the radio?' He goes, 'Just pull over.'"

Janet had heard about a police chase that ended in a gruesome crash. As she sat alone in her car on the side of the road, she learned that miles away, her husband Randy was dead in his patrol car.

"I started crying and said, 'Please tell me you're kidding.'"

Family photo

Those next few hours are a blur, a mixture of panic and emotion along with the anguish of having to share the news with the couple's five-year-old daughter, Jayden.

"She said, 'Daddy's died.' She started crying. I said, 'Yeah, baby he did.' She cried for a little bit, then said, 'I don't want to cry any more.'"

It was her daughter's strength that has helped Janet White endure the past few weeks. Jayden's hugs helped during Randy's funeral, as did the kind words of friends and even perfect strangers.

Family photo

"I can't express how much it has helped me to hear the good things about Randy," Janet said, but she already knew what a good man she had.

Janet was diagnosed with breast cancer seven months ago, and she said those final weeks with her husband by her side were priceless.

"That time of my breast cancer was, I feel, like God's gift to me, because it opened my eyes to what I have," she said. "I always appreciated him, but it made me aware to how phenomenal he was."

Janet has beaten her cancer, and now she and her family have another challenge ahead: Living life without their rock.

Family photo

"I break down and bawl like a baby, but it's that peace that you can't explain," she said.

It's the peace of knowing her husband died doing what he loved, and that her faith will reunite them someday.

"He's in heaven, and when I die, I'll see him again."

A luncheon and dinner to raise money for the Sgt. Randy White Memorial Fund will be held on Friday, April 24 at the Garrett Creek Ranch Conference Center in Paradise, Texas. Call Linda Dillinder at 940-433-2055 for reservations.

E-mail ccivale@wfaa.com