by Miranda G. McLeod
Staff Writer
Many families don’t know their loved ones had it. But in the aftermath that follows the loss of a brother or sister in blue, there is an organization that can help with the financial needs of family members. It’s the Police Death Benefit Fund and Jacksonville Sheriff’s Officers with the foresight to invest in it are helping their families cope with the burden of death.
It’s not insurance, it’s not a savings account. It’s a paradigm shift in investing.
The Police Death Benefit fund began in Jacksonville in 1924 for widows and children of fallen police officers. It’s not expensive — $5 per pay period — and the benefits for the family are enormous, said Greg Strickland, president of the fund.
The hallmark of the fund is a hand-delivered check less than 48 hours after a police officer or JSO employee dies — retired or not, on-duty or off.
Mike Massey is treasurer of the organization and delivered checks to a recent widow last week.
Margaret Chesser’s husband, Carlos, died of lung cancer a few days before the couple’s 30th wedding anniversary on Feb. 12. Chesser knew her husband contributed to the fund, but when he died, she said she didn’t think about it.
“I thought, ‘Oh Lord, what am I going to do?’ Mr. Massey showed up at my door with two checks totaling $9,002. It’s wonderful to receive that kind of money at a time when your heart is breaking,” said Chesser, who has always been a homemaker and doesn’t have much outside income.
She said the money gave her the opportunity to give her husband a proper burial, which included the JSO’s Honor Guard.
“I wanted him to have the full honors that he had earned and deserved,” she said. “I am so proud of the police department, so proud of my husband and so proud of what they did for him. When a policeman retires, they give him a tie-tack. These boys deserve it all. I looked at those young men that stood there for my husband, and I thought these are Jacksonville’s finest.”
The Police Death Benefit Fund continues to help family members of fallen police officers, many times without the family even knowing their loved one was in the fund. But when they receive an $8,000 check less than two days after the death, they realize the officer was looking out for them in the event of an untimely death.
“My wife doesn’t perceive what it is now, but she’ll know 48 hours after my death,” said Strickland, whose wife, Julie, is 13 years younger than he. “It’s reassuring to know my wife won’t be burdened at my passing.”
Policemen were underpaid for many years, said Strickland, so when they died, there was no way family members could afford a funeral. The Police Death Benefit Fund has drastically changed that.
Rebecca Porter’s father, Richard Lovell Evers Sr., died in December. She says the fund money helped her family because they didn’t have money for a funeral.
“We were able to get the entire family from all over the United States together,” she said. “We were able to give my father an honorable and respectful burial. It was a tribute to his longstanding devotion to the police department.”
Porter said there was incredible strength at her father’s funeral, especially with the presence of the JSO Honor Guard.
“It was like watching the forefathers join together. We all now have this wonderful memory of our father,” she said.
The amount a family gets for a deceased police officer fluctuates depending on the number of members. Beneficiaries usually receive just over $8,000. In the 1970s, it was half that amount. With the addition of more members, the fund has increased its payout.
“We made the million dollar mark,” said Massey, “but that number is just a figure. The assets are invested in different areas. Nothing risky, with a very low yield.”
Massey said there is an ebb and flow with the fund, especially with 550 retirees whose beneficiaries may capitalize on the fund, possibly depleting it, within a relatively short time frame.
While there are more than 1,600 members, getting new ones is a challenge.
“My husband always told me that young people didn’t realize they should be joining the Police Death Benefit Fund. But they should. They too will one day get old, and one day be in this position,” said Chesser. “When you’re young just going on the force, you’re full of energy and life. You don’t expect ever to die. You don’t ever expect that your wife is going to have to put you away. I just hope the young people in the department will continue to join the Police Death Benefit Fund because it’s so beneficial to both the older and younger people.”
The organization actively started recruiting members for the fund in 1975 by going to the police academy to tell cadets about the benefit of the organization. That’s still the way they recruit.
“We found that the new academy classes are the way to go. We see an increase in membership,” said Strickland.
To further boost membership, which boosts benefits, the organization opened the fund to all members of the JSO, not just sworn officers as was traditional.