DALLAS — A legend, the most brilliant person in every room, a green Vespa-riding man bearing a mischievous boyish grin -- David Kunkle was all those things and more.
At his funeral Wednesday morning, the former Dallas police chief was universally praised for the relationships he built, the careers he launched, and the police departments he helped rebuild and save.
The former police chief of Dallas, Grand Prairie and Arlington died July 14 after a long battle with Lewy body dementia. He was 72.
At the memorial service Wednesday at Sparkman/Hillcrest Funeral Home, easels held two photos. One showed Kunkle in his official portrait in full police uniform. The other, shirtless, in peak physical condition, shows him, as a competitor in scores of marathons, chasing his passion for running the open road. That's the person his former executive assistant Deborah Joseph said she would remember.
"He wasn't just my boss. He was my running partner, my lunch partner, and one of my best friends. In my mind, I imagine he’s out there somewhere…running like the wind…forever," she said.
And, forever, Kunkle’s impact in Dallas, and beyond, will be held in the highest regard. His friends and former co-workers talked of his work as the 27th Dallas police chief and how he stood watch over six consecutive years of crime reduction. His friend Steve Dye, also a former chief of the Grand Prairie Police Department, said Kunkle could count more than 30 other police chiefs across the country who got their starts under his mentorship. Kunkle was the epitome of courage, Dye said.
"He was a dominant force in the policing profession," Dye said. "A police legend and hero and we are eternally grateful for the friendship and the legacy that he has left in our noble and beloved policing profession. Professionally, I would not be here without the wisdom, support, guidance, friendship and knowledge given to me by Chief Kunkle."
Sarah Dodd, his wife of 17 years, talked of his intellect, his humility and that mischievous boyish grin. And she told the story of how, after their first date, he told her that she had changed his life.
“Well my love," Dodd said in her emotional goodbye to her husband at the funeral, "it is you who changed my life and I would not trade a single day."
"We were thankful for every day that we had together," she said. "And we both recognized how truly lucky we were to have a once-in-a-lifetime love built on deep respect and mutual adoration and admiration."
"Thank you for our more than 40 years of service," a dispatcher announced in the traditional last radio call. "Rest easy, we have the watch from here."
In addition to his wife, Kunkle is survived by his son, Michael Kunkle; his mother-in-law Vicki Dodd; grandchildren, Sarah Belmares, Abbigail Kunkle, Jeremy Kunkle; brother, Steve Kunkle and his wife, Melissa; their children, Matthew Kunkle, Rachel Kunkle, Nathan Kunkle, Hannah Hollingsworth; his sister, Kay Myers and her husband, Ron; and their children, Jessica Biggs, Jacob Myers, Zachary Myers and Andrew Myers.