Community remembers Undersheriff Rob DeBree

DeBree is known nationally for his work investigating the 1998 murder of University of Wyoming student Matthew Shepard. That year, he was named the American Legion Lawman of the Year, and he would receive the Human Rights Campaign Equality Award four years later.

At DeBree’s public memorial service Thursday afternoon, Rev. Rhett Ivey touched upon the former undersheriff’s childhood in Montana, his service in the U.S. Air Force and his 28-year marriage to his wife Susan — an accomplishment he described as one of DeBree’s “greatest sources of pride.”

“You know, in putting the service together, I asked his family, ‘Can you just give me one word that best describes Rob?’” Ivey said. “We know that wasn’t going to happen. But the first word, and it was almost unanimous, was ‘family.’ Rob, I don’t care how busy he was, he made it a point to take care of his family. They always came first.”

One by one, people approached the center stage to talk about DeBree and the ways he helped shape their lives.

DeBree’s niece, Sarah Dalles, described her uncle as “one of the good guys” — a compassionate, courageous man who approached each task with determination and integrity.

“Uncle Rob was the person in our family who was the rock,” she said. “He was the person who we all called when things went south.

“He was the one that put things back together. He was the one in a quiet, undemanding way that would take care of all the details that the rest of us would simply forget.”

Albany County Sheriff Dave O’Malley told the crowd assembled at the fairgrounds that sometimes if they’re lucky, someone besides a relative will walk into their world and change their life forever.

“I’m fortunate enough to have a handful of people I feel that way about, and Rob’s gone, and the rest of them are in this room today,” O’Malley said. “And there’s no way to explain the feeling that you get in your heart and your head and in your gut when you love somebody the way I loved Rob DeBree.”

When he first considered running for sheriff, O’Malley, a former Laramie Police Department chief, said he met with DeBree and asked his friend how he felt about supporting somebody outside the office.

“He looked at me, and the only thing more persistent than the Wyoming wind was Rob’s smile — and occasionally, if it got big enough, you got a little piece of gold from his bridge,” O’Malley said. “And he said, ‘I will walk out of that office with you or without you.’ And he said, ‘I’ll do anything that I can do to make you successful.’ And before he left, he said ‘Boss, I’ve got your back.’”

Col. Kebin Haller of the Wyoming Highway Patrol said DeBree’s reach extended far beyond Albany County.

“Rob had the impact throughout the state much that he did right here in his hometown and county,” he said. “And he was a leader, he was a mentor, but to those of us in law enforcement, he was a brother. We will make every effort to carry on his legacy and professionalism — and also find the humor in the small things, because sometimes in this job that’s about all you’ve got.”