In Jon's Honor

September 26, 2008 is a day I will absolutely never forget. I do not think there was another day that year I waited for so anxiously.

Why? This was the day Tyler graduated from the Department of Public Safety Trooper Academy.

What a wonderful day it was. It was a day to celebrate and that paved the way for our growing (I was 20 weeks pregnant) family's future. We could not get down to Austin, Texas fast enough to watch Tyler and his entire recruit class receive their Commission from the State.

This was also the day I had the privilege and honor of meeting Laura McDonald.

Laura looked like me (not physically)! She was a young wife of a Trooper-to-be. We both had the excitement in our eyes of getting our husbands back at the end of the day, after 6 long months of being separated from them by the Academy.

I took my seat next to her and immediately we struck up conversation about how excited we were that they day had finally come. See, she had been dealing with all the emotion of being away from her husband in the same way I had been, so even though we had just met, we had something special in common.

I felt like we became instant friends. Her and Jon were stationed in Post, Texas. They went to a station in an area in which they were familiar and were ready to start life as a Trooper and soon to be teacher!

Laura gave birth to sweet Kacyn Shae McDonald 6 months ago. A family of 3!

I kept up with Laura mostly through facebook. I always thought she was the proudest Trooper wife in all of Texas. Jon had a gem of a wife in her, you see, being a Trooper Wife is not an easy task!

This Monday night, at 10:30 pm Jon was tragically killed in a car accident. What was he doing? Serving. He was on duty on his way to a call to take care of wreck. (A situation that is all to routine for me) There is reason to believe that a tire on his car blew out causing him to loose control of his car and hit a covert on the highway sending his patrol car into flames.

Tyler and I could not believe the news when we heard. We immediately went into tears. Yes, we had heard of Troopers loosing their lives in the line of duty. None that Tyler bunked with in the Academy. None that I had meet the family. None that seemed to be just like us.

Tyler said Jon was a good recruit, and therefore made a good solid Troop. Tyler remembers exactly where Jon sat in their classroom during those dreadful 6 months. They did everything in alphabetical order, and McDonald is not too far from Moses.

To the McDonald Family:
We so appreciate the service of Trooper Jonathan McDonald. We know that he was not only a Trooper, but a loving husband and nurturing father to his baby girl. His life will always be remembered with much honor, and our hearts and prayers go out to you.

Being a Trooper family is risky, but I am so very proud to be apart of one. Thank you, Tyler, and Troopers like Jon who do what you do for the safety of the people of Texas.

Click here for the news story on this tragic event.