Fallen McHenry County deputy hero honored
The chattering stopped and a football, once airborne, sat stationary on the grass.
At Northwood Middle School late Saturday afternoon, somber silence prevailed as people saluted and paid their respects while a massive funeral procession for McHenry County Sheriff's Deputy Dwight Maness passed the county jail, courthouse and the school, providing a grim reminder of the dangers police face and the sacrifices they make.
For the second time this month, law enforcement officers from across the area gathered to mourn one of their own.
Maness, who was described by friends as a great officer and an even more amazing man, died Monday during a rehab session from a blood clot in his lung. Maness, 47, was severely wounded in October 2014 when he and a fellow deputy were ambushed by former Army Ranger Scott Peters while conducting a well-being check in Holiday Hills. After the shooting, Maness endured more than a dozen surgeries on his leg. Peters was convicted and sentenced to 135 years in prison.
Maness' friend Scott Creden said it was difficult to believe Maness was gone, especially after seeing him Sept. 4, when he was eager to begin rehab sessions in a swimming pool.
"He was fine. He was in good spirits," Creden said. "In the uniform, he did his job and he did it right. He was a good, honest officer. When out of the uniform, he was just an all-around good guy."
Pictures of happier times of Maness and his wife, Sue, were hung at the auditorium stage at Woodstock North High School, where his body lay in state before a law enforcement-only service was held. Officers from dozens of suburban departments, along with representatives from Chicago, Joliet and even Champaign, traveled to pay their respects.
Nearly two weeks ago, Maness attended the funeral of Fox Lake Police Lt. Joe Gliniewicz, 52, who was killed Sept. 1 near an abandoned cement plant.
Creden's wife, Jessie Depner, said they would sing karaoke with Maness on Thursdays at a Wonder Lake bar.
"Dwight was an outstanding man," Depner said, noting his 20 years of service in the Army before joining the McHenry County Sheriff's Department. "He did so much good for McHenry County."
Public visitation ran for 2½ hours on Saturday, with people encouraged to park at the McHenry County Government Center and take a shuttle bus to the high school.
Signs of support were evident around the area, ranging from flags at half-staff to signs for drivers, such as the board outside of State Rep. Jack Franks' office in Woodstock that read: "We honor our fallen hero Deputy Maness."
"Respect for police just keeps going down because of a few incidents of a few questionable people," said Richmond resident Joe Bappert, as he stood along the procession route with a large American flag. "There's tens of thousands of police every day doing great things for people and they're just not appreciated. People need to go out and support the police."
Some in the group of parents and kids gathered outside Northwood Middle School waited nearly two hours for the procession.
Raina Pena, a Woodstock woman holding a "Thank you" sign and blue balloons, said it was important for students to comprehend Maness' sacrifice and the gravity of each and every call officers respond to.
"It's important that we come together as a community," Pena said. "The kids need to understand. This is the best way to get them to understand when they see the procession."
Pena and her friend Gail Darling, also of Woodstock, said they have numerous relatives and friends in law enforcement.
"When it hits this close to home, this is what you go do," Darling said. "(Maness) fought for a year to get to where he was and to be taken from his family like that, it's just devastating."