DELMAR - Susan and Keith Heacook were together for 24 years, marrying 10 years after they met. As the community continues to advocate for at least two officers on every 911 call, Susan wonders if her husband would still be with her today if he had not responded to a 911 call alone.
Cpl. Keith Heacook was beaten in the line of duty on April 25th, 2021. He was taken off life support on April 28th, 2021 and died from his injuries. His heart beat is now immortalized in a teddy bear from The Gift of Life to his wife Susan Heacook before his organs were harvested.Â
"I was at work," Susan Heacook says. "My supervisor called me and said something happened to my husband."
Susan says her husband responded to his final call alone because his partner was on medical leave at the time.
"It's the hardest and most painful that I've ever endured," Susan says.
Surrounded by Keith's belongings and photos of the couple making some of their favorite memories, Susan knows her fallen hero is with her still. She says she first met Keith at a bar in Georgetown.
"He was very shy and he kept staring at me and he don't want to come and talk to me, so I approach him," Susan says.
Susan asked Keith to dance on what would be the first of many nights out. She says he loved to party and dedicated her entire garage to keeping his memory alive, making the space into the bar he always wanted, using one he bought himself.
"I have his shot glass and his alcohol in there," Susan says. "I was hoping he was going to drink some."
The walls are painted blue, as is her front door, to honor him, just like the blue ribbons that still float softly outside of town hall and the police station.
Susan says the Delmar Police Department was there for her husband until his last breath and that over the past year, she has been overwhelmed with support from the officers, their wives, the fire department and other volunteers in the community.
"He loves everybody," Susan says. "Whenever we go out, he's like a movie star. There's a lot of people that knows him, giving him a hug and I said who's that guy and he said oh I arrest him at one time."
Susan has some of Keith's ashes in this necklace. She says she sprinkled some on Rehoboth Beach and will soon place more under a garden statue like he told her he wanted.
The sound of his voice will be kept alive too. A teddy bear gifted to her by Delmar Police Chief Ivan Barkley's kids now plays an old voicemail Keith left to Susan that says: "Hi honey I figured I'd try to call you again, but you were on the house phone."
Susan says she and Keith had trips planned, including one to Virginia Beach and another to the Philippines to see her family. As she continues to lay the fallen officer's ashes, others will come out to remember him at the first annual Heacook Fest on April 28th, 2022 at the Amphitheater at Heron's Pond in Delmar.
Organizers say there will be lots of live music, a Jeep show and the Maryland State Police helicopter will even be landing at the event. Admission is free, but donations will go to the Cpl. Heacook scholarship fund, for Delmar seniors pursuing a career in public service.