{"id":27617,"date":"2018-12-13T00:00:00","date_gmt":"2018-12-13T00:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/web.tarleton.edu\/news\/fallen-tarleton-police-officer-honored-with-portrait-presentation-scholarship\/"},"modified":"2023-06-21T11:18:36","modified_gmt":"2023-06-21T16:18:36","slug":"fallen-tarleton-police-officer-honored-with-portrait-presentation-scholarship","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.tarleton.edu\/news\/fallen-tarleton-police-officer-honored-with-portrait-presentation-scholarship\/","title":{"rendered":"Fallen Tarleton police officer honored with portrait presentation, scholarship"},"content":{"rendered":"<p class=\"attachment\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.tarleton.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/65\/2021\/11\/image-883.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"attachment-medium size-medium\" style=\"width: 100%; height: 86.33%; max-width: 2488px;\" src=\"https:\/\/www.tarleton.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/65\/2021\/11\/image-883-300x259.jpg\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.tarleton.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/65\/2021\/11\/image-883-300x259.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.tarleton.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/65\/2021\/11\/image-883-1024x884.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/www.tarleton.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/65\/2021\/11\/image-883-463x400.jpg 463w, https:\/\/www.tarleton.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/65\/2021\/11\/image-883-768x663.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.tarleton.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/65\/2021\/11\/image-883-1536x1326.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/www.tarleton.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/65\/2021\/11\/image-883-2048x1768.jpg 2048w, https:\/\/www.tarleton.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/65\/2021\/11\/image-883-1568x1354.jpg 1568w\" alt=\"Officer W.A. Hail Unveiling\" width=\"300\" height=\"259\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>Officer W.A. Hail Unveiling<\/p>\n<p>FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE<br \/>\nThursday, December 13, 2018<\/p>\n<p>STEPHENVILLE, Texas \u2014 The family of fallen Tarleton State University police officer W.A. Hail presented a painting of their patriarch in a 1 p.m. ceremony today \u2014 40 years to the day of his death \u2014 at the Thompson Student Center in Stephenville and announced a scholarship in his name.<\/p>\n<p>Representing Tarleton President F. Dominic Dottavio, Chief of Staff Kim McCuistion spoke of Hail\u2019s ultimate sacrifice.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAt Tarleton we are guided by the core values of tradition, integrity, civility, leadership, service and excellence,\u201d she said. \u201cAs we look back on Officer Hail\u2019s life we see that he, too, was guided by these core values.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Hail was 56 when he died. He suffered a fatal heart attack while pursuing several male students following a report they were congregating around a female residence hall.<\/p>\n<p>A World War II veteran, he was on the Tarleton police force nine years. He also was a reserve officer for the Stephenville Police Department and the Erath County Sheriff\u2019s Department.<\/p>\n<p>In May, Hail\u2019s name was added to the Texas Law Enforcement Monument located in Austin on the Capitol grounds. In addition, his name was placed on the National Law Enforcement Monument in Washington, D.C.<\/p>\n<p>Kathy Ward-Wilson, Tarleton\u2019s first female police officer, was Hail\u2019s partner four decades ago.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHe was such a hard worker,\u201d she said. \u201cHe was a gentleman and a great officer. I thank God I knew him.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Hail\u2019s granddaughter Rhonda Duckworth was emotional in her reminiscence of her grandfather.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHe was one of the most genuine people you could ever meet. He always had a way of making us feel special and important. This painting will hang in the Tarleton Police Department lobby and will help make sure that his sacrifice will never be forgotten.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"YouTube Video player\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/EJ22f93EVoM\" width=\"560\" height=\"315\" frameborder=\"0\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p>The painting, depicting Hail in his Tarleton police uniform, was the work of Sheryl Cozad.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAs I painted this portrait, I had such a feeling for the kind presence of this policeman,\u201d the artist said. \u201cIt is as if he was patiently urging me to finish. I could almost hear him saying, \u2018I\u2019ve waited such a long time to be remembered.\u2019 \u201d<\/p>\n<p>The scholarship, announced by Hail\u2019s son, Rick, will aid junior- and senior-level students pursuing a degree in criminal justice or a related field for a career in law enforcement.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe nice thing about this scholarship is that it will be here forever,\u201d noted Tarleton Development Director Jennifer Hawthorne. \u201cIt will memorialize Officer Hail in perpetuity, helping future students achieve their dreams of becoming law enforcement personnel.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>A tribute from the Rev. Kenneth Hall, who officiated Hail\u2019s funeral in 1978, read by the Rev. Kenneth Reiter of First Baptist Church of Cross Plains recalled Hail\u2019s sense of responsibility.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cW.A. was never one to step back and let someone else do the job,\u201d Reiter read. \u201cIf he saw a need he stepped forward with all his wisdom, action and availability.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Tarleton Police Chief Matt Welch presented a folded American flag to the family as a symbol of Hail\u2019s death in the line of duty.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cOfficer Hail died exemplifying Tarleton\u2019s core value of service,\u201d Welch said. \u201cThe officers of Tarleton are honored with the presentation of the painting to display in our lobby as a reminder of his service.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>To contribute to the W.A. Hail Memorial Scholarship, call Hawthorne at 254-968-1756.<\/p>\n<p>Tarleton, founding member of The Texas A&amp;M University System, provides a student-focused, value-driven education marked by academic innovation and a dedication to transform today\u2019s scholars into tomorrow\u2019s leaders. It offers degree programs to more than 13,000 students at Stephenville, Fort Worth, Waco, Midlothian, RELLIS Academic Alliance in Bryan, and online, emphasizing real-world learning experiences that address societal needs while maintaining its core values of tradition, integrity, civility, excellence, leadership and service.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The family of fallen Tarleton State University police officer W.A. Hail presented a painting of their patriarch wearing his badge No. 3551 in a 1 p.m. ceremony today at the Thompson Student Center in Stephenville.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":49676,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"inline_featured_image":false,"advgb_blocks_editor_width":"","advgb_blocks_columns_visual_guide":"","wds_primary_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[423,424,425],"tags":[431,442],"class_list":["post-27617","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-academics-research","category-arts-events","category-campus-community","tag-administration","tag-community-events"],"acf":{"image":false},"author_meta":{"display_name":"keegan","author_link":"https:\/\/www.tarleton.edu\/news\/author\/keegan-2-2-2-2-2-2-2-2-2-2-2-2-2-2-2\/"},"featured_img":"https:\/\/www.tarleton.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/65\/2023\/10\/Spring-Flowers-Admin-Gates_7545-300x200.jpg","coauthors":[],"tax_additional":{"categories":{"linked":["<a href=\"https:\/\/www.tarleton.edu\/news\/category\/academics-research\/\" class=\"advgb-post-tax-term\">Academics &amp; Research<\/a>","<a href=\"https:\/\/www.tarleton.edu\/news\/category\/arts-events\/\" class=\"advgb-post-tax-term\">Arts &amp; Events<\/a>","<a href=\"https:\/\/www.tarleton.edu\/news\/category\/campus-community\/\" class=\"advgb-post-tax-term\">Campus &amp; Community<\/a>"],"unlinked":["<span class=\"advgb-post-tax-term\">Academics &amp; Research<\/span>","<span class=\"advgb-post-tax-term\">Arts &amp; Events<\/span>","<span class=\"advgb-post-tax-term\">Campus &amp; Community<\/span>"]},"tags":{"linked":["<a href=\"https:\/\/www.tarleton.edu\/news\/category\/campus-community\/\" class=\"advgb-post-tax-term\">Administration<\/a>","<a href=\"https:\/\/www.tarleton.edu\/news\/category\/campus-community\/\" class=\"advgb-post-tax-term\">Community Events<\/a>"],"unlinked":["<span class=\"advgb-post-tax-term\">Administration<\/span>","<span class=\"advgb-post-tax-term\">Community Events<\/span>"]}},"comment_count":0,"relative_dates":{"created":"Posted 7 years ago","modified":"Updated 3 years ago"},"absolute_dates":{"created":"Posted on December 13, 2018","modified":"Updated on June 21, 2023"},"absolute_dates_time":{"created":"Posted on December 13, 2018 12:00 am","modified":"Updated on June 21, 2023 11:18 am"},"featured_img_caption":"Tarleton State University entrance with flags and flowers.","series_order":"","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.tarleton.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/27617","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.tarleton.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.tarleton.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.tarleton.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.tarleton.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=27617"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.tarleton.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/27617\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.tarleton.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/49676"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.tarleton.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=27617"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.tarleton.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=27617"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.tarleton.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=27617"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}