Council names office honoring police volunteer John Fitzwater

By Jim Hardin

Herald-Banner Staff

The Rockwall City Council has made it official with a unanimous decision to name the police community services office honoring John Fitzwater, a longtime Rockwall resident and police department volunteer.

The police community services office in Ridge Road Center will be the Rockwall Police Department, John Fitzwater Community Services Center.

The Rockwall Police Officers’ Association had requested the name honoring Fitzwater, who died on Sept. 19. The association’s request was presented to the city council’s Subcommittee for Naming and Citizen Awards.

Before the city council voted to approve the name during its Monday night meeting, members of the subcommittee — councilmembers Matt Scott, David Sweet and Mark Russo — said their decision was an easy one.

“Words cannot describe how easy it was to make this selection,” Russo said.

Naming the office in Fitzwater’s honor is “a very small thing compared to the contributions that this man has given to the community.”

Russo also recognized Fitzwater’s wife, Ruth, who was in the audience.

“I’ve seen them in action and again, I think this is the least we can do,” Russo said, adding that the couple’s contributions “far outweigh what we’re going to do tonight.”

Sweet said naming the office “does not go to the extent of being able to recognize John for his contributions, but this is definitely our token, our effort, in at least attempting to do that.”

Scott said “to say thank you to someone who has contributed so much to our community, this really was an easy one.”

Councilmember Margo Nielsen commented that Fitzwater was “a tremendous volunteer.” She added that Fitzwater’s wife is “in her own right a tremendous community volunteer.”

“It was an honor to know John and is still an honor to know you,” she said, referring to his. “Thank you for all that your family has done.”

“This community is made up of volunteers, but the volunteering that he did was above and beyond and I thank him very much and I thank the family very much,” said Councilmember Glen Farris.

Cliff Sevier said, “I echo the thoughts of everybody else.”

“We just can’t tell you how much we appreciated John and how much he meant to the community and what he had done,” Sevier said.

Mayor Bill Cecil said, “I’ve never known a finer man who cared as much as he did about his family, about his community, and he walked his talk every day. He walked his talk.”

City Council members, the city staff and audience stood and applauded after the vote.

“It was just amazing,” Ruth Fitzwater said the next day. “It just blew me away, just thinking that they would do something like this.”

During the meeting, she was flanked by her two sons — Sgt. Ray Fitzwater of the Rockwall Police Department and Detective John Fitzwater of the Rockwall County Sheriff’s Office.

A group of Rockwall police officers and Citizens on Patrol members also attended the meeting.

Fitzwater began his volunteer service with the Rockwall Police Department as a volunteer in September 1998 when he attended the spring class of the Citizen Police Academy. At the same time, he joined the Citizens on Patrol organization and began volunteering for the police department.

He had 724 documented hours of community service, according to his “volunteer biography,” plus many hours of service that were not documented.

He performed puppet shows at children’s programs, patrolled neighborhoods and business areas and trained new volunteers on how to operate the police department’s Sky Watch tower. For about a year, he deployed the Sky Watch tower and returned to pick it up each evening.

Fitzwater participated in the volunteer handicap enforcement program and helped with implementation of the COP Volunteer Service Vehicles. He was president of the Citizen Police Academy Alumni Association from January 2008 until his death.