Daggett sheriff's deputy is laid to rest

DUTCH JOHN, Daggett County — Law enforcement officers from around the Uintah Basin and neighboring Wyoming joined with this small community Saturday to say goodbye to Daggett County sheriff's deputy John DeHart.

DeHart, 61, died at his home Monday from complications of esophageal cancer. He was diagnosed in August with the disease, which was already in the advanced stages.

"He made a trip to the hospital because he couldn't swallow. That was his first real big indication that something was wrong," said Daggett County Sheriff Rick Ellsworth before Saturday's memorial service. "The doctors told him he'd probably had (cancer) for eight or nine years for it to be at the stage that it was at."

Ellsworth said DeHart loved his job and the community he had served for nearly 11 years. He said DeHart brought a calming influence to every situation he was involved in.

"He was steady and low-key," the sheriff said. "He could defuse problems really fast."

DeHart served in the Air Force as a jet engine mechanic during the Vietnam era. Later he worked as a security officer at the Tooele Army Depot for close to a decade, serving as a member of the base's SWAT team.

DeHart's son, Ryan Sagers, said his father was a model of perseverance. During a training exercise at the Army depot, DeHart was severely injured in a truck crash. He never fully recovered from the accident or a later incident where he suffered neck injuries after being hit in the head by a piece of heavy equipment during a construction job.

Instead of slowing down, DeHart decided to join the sheriff's office after he and his wife moved to Daggett County. Sagers said his father's only obstacle to becoming certified as a peace officer in Utah was passing the running portion of the physical fitness test.

"His knee and his other injuries had never fully healed. The pain was just absolutely excruciating," Sagers said. "He tucked away the pain, he passed his test and achieved the goal that meant so much to him. Most people who associated with him were never aware of the pain he was in."

DeHart was also a compassionate man, Sagers said. He remembered his father's affinity for offering help to the "neglected" kids in the neighborhood or befriending "people who the average person would avoid associating with."

"Everyone felt they were welcome in his home, regardless of their station in life," Sagers said. "He explained it to me in a way that a child can understand: 'You don't need to be friends with them, but you do need to be friendly to them."'

Following the memorial service, the hearse carrying DeHart was escorted by a procession of law enforcement and emergency vehicles for the 96-mile journey through Daggett, Uintah and Duchesne counties to the Altamont Town Cemetery.

Two columns of deputies, officers, troopers and emergency medical technicians saluted DeHart's flag-draped casket as it was carried to the grave site. An American Legion honor guard provided a 21-gun salute. Then a dispatcher's voice crackled from the hand-held radios of those assembled to announce the end of watch for Delta 7 before the solemn notes of taps began to echo across the frigid cemetery.

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E-mail: geoff@ubstandard.com