Community eulogizes Onslow deputy

Steve Boehm knew while he was a student at White Oak High School that he wanted to be a law enforcement officer and "he hit his mark," Onslow County Sheriff Ed Brown said during Boehm's memorial service Wednesday.

The service, held in White Oak's gym, honored Boehm - the school's resource officer and assistant football coach - who died on duty Saturday in a traffic accident on U.S. 17.

Boehm had a way of becoming a part of people's lives, Brown said. He told those gathered at the ceremony that Boehm was an "all-star team player."

Boehm belonged to his family team; he belonged to the National Guard, White Oak High School and the Sheriff's Department.

"He promoted a better community and a better world," Brown said. "He would want each of us to make a positive impact."

More than 1,500 law enforcement officers and members of the community attended the service, according to an estimate from Johnson Funeral Home. Boehm's high school football jersey was on display next to a large projection screen that flashed photographs of him taken with family members. An American flag was draped over his coffin, flanked by a Marine Corps honor guard.

The varsity and junior varsity football teams - students Boehm mentored as the assistant football coach - sat together in the bleachers, dressed in their football jerseys.

Emergency workers and firefighters - many who had the day before buried Verona firefighter Gene Thomas who died with Boehm on Saturday - sat in the audience.

Hundreds of law enforcement officers from every nearby jurisdiction and from all over the state - some as far away as Durham - entered the gym two-by-two and marched to their reserved seats. Everyone in attendance rose as the Boehm family was escorted to their seats by Maj. Wes Cowan - Boehm's immediate supervisor at the Sheriff's Department.

"These men are real heroes," District Attorney Dewey Hudson said. "They should never be forgotten."

Deputies who were the closest to Boehm spoke after the opening prayer.

"Steve was not just our friend, Steve was our brother," said Tom Gagnon, a former deputy, now with the Marine Corps Police Department. "Steve did not sugarcoat anything. He always said what was on everyone else's mind, but no one else had the guts to say."

Gagnon said Boehm talked about the White Oak football team so much that his fellow deputies knew how much the players could bench press.

Sheriff's Sgt. Tommy Thomas served as the SRO at White Oak before Boehm.

"Steve did so much better than I did," Thomas said. "He was a coach and mentor first, and a cop when he had to be."

Before the service, Greg Grantham, White Oak High School's athletic director, said he was shocked by the news of Boehm's death.

"We had just worked Project Graduation together," Grantham said. The two kept each other awake for the nearly two-day event, geared to keep students safe and alcohol free on graduation night.

They parted ways when it was over. Grantham had no idea it would be the last time he'd see Boehm.

"He was just - personable is the way to describe Steve. He was a very personable guy," Grantham said. "I think that's why he was such a great resource officer for our school. He could relate to the kids on their level."

Joseph Williams, 16, heard the news of Boehm's death from his father.

"I didn't want to accept it at first. I didn't want to believe it," the White Oak sophomore said.

Williams said the student body will miss Boehm's playfulness.

"No matter what kind of day you were having, you'd walk by him in the hallway and he'd say something to make you laugh and you'd be ready to go on to next period," he said.

But Boehm didn't just make an impact at White Oak, he made one throughout the entire Onslow County school system, said Superintendent Kathy Spencer.

"It's a significant loss to the (school) system ... to the Sheriff's Department ... to the community," she said.

The Onslow County Board of Commissioners presented the Boehm family with a shadow box with his badge, handcuffs, service pistol and a picture of him at his White Oak office desk. They also gave his family a recording of Boehm's radio transmissions in the last 10 hours before he died.

"I'm very proud of the life my dad lived," Boehm's daughter, Tiffany, told the audience. "My daddy was my hero."

The service ended with bagpipes playing "Amazing Grace," a Marine squad fired a 21-gun salute and a band played "Taps" to honor Boehm's service as a Marine. While the honor guard folded the flag on the coffin to present to Boehm's wife, a life flight helicopter from Wake Medical made a fly-over.

Family members left the high school in Sheriff's Department cruisers, each bearing a dashboard sign with the number 375 - Boehm's radio call number.