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Sheriff's deputy mourned at packed funeral
By Michael Wright
The Facts
Published December 10, 2005
ALVIN — As the bagpipes blared their mournful wail across the Confederate Cemetery in Alvin, the uniformed officers who had been standing at attention for so long finally crumbled, faces bursting into tears, precise lines of men and women dissolving into a sobbing mob.
Brazoria County Sheriff’s Deputy Jason Alexander Oliff was laid to rest Friday, remembered more for his smile and laughter than as an enforcer of the law.
Oliff, 27, of Amsterdam, was killed Monday morning on FM 2004 in front of the Innovene plant while working traffic during a shift change. He had worked for the sheriff’s department for four years.
More than 700 people, including officers from police departments as far away as Austin, gathered at the First United Methodist Church here to say goodbye to a comrade, brother, son and soulmate.
Oliff’s fiancée, Holly Bartuska, who had been with him for six years and referred to him as her husband, brought tears during her eulogy when she described the trip to Houston’s Memorial Hermann Hospital after Oliff was struck by a Dodge Ram pickup.
“I saw the LifeFlight helicopter fly across the sky and just then, the sun broke through the clouds,” Bartuska said. “I knew he was gone.”
Bartuska, a licensed nurse, said her worst fears were confirmed when the nurse at Hermann took her and Oliff’s brother Tim into a side room. Moments later the doctor came in and told her Oliff was dead.
“He was already cold,” she said in a firm voice. “I laid my head on his chest and held his hand and sang ‘Amazing Grace’ to him.”
Oliff patrolled the northern end of the county with Ronnie Falks and Chris Carson.
Carson, barely able to control his emotions, told the gathering that Oliff made him want to be a better person.
“What can I say to try to make sense of your tragic death?” Carson said. “I guess I could tell you now what I should have told you when I talked to you Monday morning. You’re one of the best friends I’ve ever had, and I love you brother.”
Oliff, Falks and Carson, along with deputies Mario Patillo and Michael Villarreal, carried plastic baby rattles as symbols of their solidarity. Oliff was buried with his.
Carson talked about how much Oliff wanted a new set of Callaway golf clubs like Carson’s.
“Instead, you and Holly spent your money on supplies for Katrina victims,” Carson said. “You were a spiritual role model for what we should all have inside us.”
But perhaps the most pointed comment came from someone who didn’t speak at the funeral.
Amy Kelly’s home was burglarized last week and it was Oliff who answered her call.
“He sat at our table and walked us through everything that would happen in the following weeks,” Kelly wrote in an e-mail to The Facts. “He showed us so much compassion. He talked to us with kindness as he tried to provide some level of comfort.”
Kelly wrote that Oliff epitomized what was best about law enforcement.
“Every man and woman that puts on a badge is brave beyond words,” she wrote. “I thank God every day that there are people who have made it their life’s mission to keep my family and me safe.”
An account in Oliff’s honor at BP Employees Credit Union to fund a scholarship through the 100 Club of Brazoria County. To donate, call the credit union at (281) 581-3269.
By Michael Wright
The Facts
Published December 10, 2005
ALVIN — As the bagpipes blared their mournful wail across the Confederate Cemetery in Alvin, the uniformed officers who had been standing at attention for so long finally crumbled, faces bursting into tears, precise lines of men and women dissolving into a sobbing mob.
Brazoria County Sheriff’s Deputy Jason Alexander Oliff was laid to rest Friday, remembered more for his smile and laughter than as an enforcer of the law.
Oliff, 27, of Amsterdam, was killed Monday morning on FM 2004 in front of the Innovene plant while working traffic during a shift change. He had worked for the sheriff’s department for four years.
More than 700 people, including officers from police departments as far away as Austin, gathered at the First United Methodist Church here to say goodbye to a comrade, brother, son and soulmate.
Oliff’s fiancée, Holly Bartuska, who had been with him for six years and referred to him as her husband, brought tears during her eulogy when she described the trip to Houston’s Memorial Hermann Hospital after Oliff was struck by a Dodge Ram pickup.
“I saw the LifeFlight helicopter fly across the sky and just then, the sun broke through the clouds,” Bartuska said. “I knew he was gone.”
Bartuska, a licensed nurse, said her worst fears were confirmed when the nurse at Hermann took her and Oliff’s brother Tim into a side room. Moments later the doctor came in and told her Oliff was dead.
“He was already cold,” she said in a firm voice. “I laid my head on his chest and held his hand and sang ‘Amazing Grace’ to him.”
Oliff patrolled the northern end of the county with Ronnie Falks and Chris Carson.
Carson, barely able to control his emotions, told the gathering that Oliff made him want to be a better person.
“What can I say to try to make sense of your tragic death?” Carson said. “I guess I could tell you now what I should have told you when I talked to you Monday morning. You’re one of the best friends I’ve ever had, and I love you brother.”
Oliff, Falks and Carson, along with deputies Mario Patillo and Michael Villarreal, carried plastic baby rattles as symbols of their solidarity. Oliff was buried with his.
Carson talked about how much Oliff wanted a new set of Callaway golf clubs like Carson’s.
“Instead, you and Holly spent your money on supplies for Katrina victims,” Carson said. “You were a spiritual role model for what we should all have inside us.”
But perhaps the most pointed comment came from someone who didn’t speak at the funeral.
Amy Kelly’s home was burglarized last week and it was Oliff who answered her call.
“He sat at our table and walked us through everything that would happen in the following weeks,” Kelly wrote in an e-mail to The Facts. “He showed us so much compassion. He talked to us with kindness as he tried to provide some level of comfort.”
Kelly wrote that Oliff epitomized what was best about law enforcement.
“Every man and woman that puts on a badge is brave beyond words,” she wrote. “I thank God every day that there are people who have made it their life’s mission to keep my family and me safe.”
An account in Oliff’s honor at BP Employees Credit Union to fund a scholarship through the 100 Club of Brazoria County. To donate, call the credit union at (281) 581-3269.
