Family remembers former sheriff who’s being honored with complex in his name
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RIGBY – The Law Enforcement complex at the Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office in Rigby will soon bear the name of a former sheriff.
The community is invited to the unveiling and dedication ceremony of the Howard Shaffer Law Enforcement Complex on Sept. 16. Shaffer, who served as sheriff from 1950 to 1972, was the only law enforcement officer in Jefferson County killed in the line of duty.
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A stone monument honoring Shaffer was placed in front of the building Thursday morning. Terrall Hanson, a retired deputy with the sheriff’s office who spearheaded this effort, is also planning to put a bio of Shaffer inside the building with some memorabilia in a display case. Among the items is Shaffer’s blackjack, or club, that Hanson inherited from Shaffer’s Chief Deputy, Joe Potter.
Members of the Shaffer family are hoping to attend, including a granddaughter, Danette Mullen, and niece, Lori Herod.
Mullen describes Shaffer as a kind and loving man who was well-liked by everyone in the community and she tells EastIdahoNews.com naming the law enforcement complex after him is “long overdue.”
“He was an amazing man and I think this is well-deserved to have him be recognized like this. I’m glad it’s happening,” Mullen says.
Mullen recalls walking the streets of Rigby with Shaffer as a 6-year-old girl. She was holding his hand and she says people were constantly greeting him.
“Everybody knew him and it just seemed like he was famous,” Mullen says, laughing. “He walked me into the drug store … and I remember him sitting me up on the stool and they got me an ice cream. It’s just one of those memories that stuck, this feeling that he was a man who everybody loved.”
No one would run against him as sheriff because everyone loved and respected him, Mullen says.
Shaffer was killed just before 9 p.m. on March 25, 1972 while crossing the tracks at the Lincoln railroad crossing off Yellowstone Highway in Idaho Falls. He was hit by an oncoming train.
The night he was killed, Mullen says she had asked Shaffer if she could ride in the patrol car with him. He said ‘No, maybe another time.’ Before he left, Mullen remembers Shaffer picking her up and giving her a hug.
“He left and that was it,” says Mullen. “I really wish I had more memories of him. It hurts my heart that I don’t.”
Mullen moved to California years ago to be close to her grandmother, Vera, who died in 2006 at age 92, and mom, Helen, who passed away from lung cancer in 2014.
Herod, who lives in Missouri, says hearing about Shaffer’s story and this recognition in the news is “a proud moment for the family.” Her father, Charles, was Shaffer’s brother and she shares a few thoughts about her uncle in a written history.
“Howard and Charles each learned early on a work ethic I can see repeated in the generations of my kids and grandkids,” Herod writes. “Howard … was trustworthy, honest and took great pride and joy in serving the public. He had the respect of all as was noted by having the largest funeral the community had ever witnessed. Law Enforcement from all over the state came to pay their respects.”
To this day, many people in the community speak highly of Shaffer, including current Jefferson County Sheriff Steve Anderson.
“I think it’s a great thing to name our law enforcement complex in his honor,” Anderson says.
Anderson will make a few remarks during the dedication, along with Hanson, county commissioners and Shaffer family members. The event will start at 3 p.m.