By Richard Abshire
The Dallas Morning News
Dallas County Sheriff’s Deputy Stewart Reeves died doing one of his favorite things: riding his new Harley.
“He loved being on that bike,” said Army Sgt. 1st Class Michael Salcedo, the oldest of the deputy’s three grown sons. “He wouldn’t have dreamed of going any other way.”
The off-duty accident occurred about 1:20 a.m. Monday as the 46-year-old Mesquite man and a friend rode on separate bikes along Northwest Drive. Deputy Reeves, a veteran of 26 years with the Sheriff’s Department, ran up on a curb near La Prada Drive and was thrown from his motorcycle, which rolled over him, said Lt. Steve Callarman, a Mesquite police spokesman.
Deputy Reeves, who police said was not wearing a helmet, died at the scene.
The deputy had been president of the Peace Keepers Motorcycle Club - a close-knit group of current and former police officers, firefighters and other public safety officials that conducts toy drives and fundraisers for women’s shelters.
Deputy Reeves, who lived with and took care of his mother, had been riding with club members Sunday and had stopped to pick up doughnuts on his way home, said Sheriff’s Deputy Michael Ortiz.
“He knew his mom was a night owl and she would still be up,” Sgt. Salcedo said. “He was taking care of his mom, my grandmother. He had a big heart.”
Deputy Reeves was also a doting grandpa to Sgt. Salcedo’s daughter and was looking forward to the birth of her brother any day.
“One of the things I remember most about him is seeing him turn to jelly around my little girl, his first grandchild,” Sgt. Salcedo said. “He always had a soft spot for kids.”
Sgt. Salcedo, who is stationed near Austin, said his mother and Deputy Reeves had met in California when his father was in the Marines. They later divorced.
Sgt. Salcedo said negative stereotypes about bikers didn’t apply to the Peace Keepers. The club was more about charity than thrills, he said, although his father did have a passion for motorcycles.
Deputy Reeves left a grieving professional family as well as a personal one.
“Everyone is kind of numb,” Deputy Ortiz said. “He was not a supervisor, but he was someone who helped train other patrol officers and was a leader to other colleagues.”
Deputy Reeves had accumulated more than 20 commendations and had no disciplinary actions on his record, Deputy Ortiz said.
Sheriff Lupe Valdez said Deputy Reeves’ death would be widely felt.
“Any time the department suffers a loss like this, everybody hurts - his family, the community he served and his co-workers in the department,” she said.
Sgt. Salcedo said Deputy Reeves had been talking a lot about the club’s annual summer ride to Austin for a fundraiser because he was looking forward to seeing his grandchildren.
The funeral will be at Anderson-Clayton Brothers Funeral Home in Mesquite. Visitation is scheduled for 6 to 8 p.m. Wednesday and the service for 11 a.m. Thursday.
Copyright 2007 THE DALLAS MORNING NEWS