Beth Hutchens Tips for a Police Wife:
1) Keep you paperwork up to date. If you get married, separated, etc, go immediately to the person who does you paperwork for the department and update it.
3) Talk about finances, where money is, and what is owed. A really outstanding resource is
I know it is much easier to avoid the subject, but the fact is IF you ever need it, this will help so much.
4) If your city offers inexpensive term insurance take out the limit, check into life insurance offered by PBA, FOP, banks, etc. and make sure you activate and have the correct beneficiary recorded.
5) Have some honest talks about organ donation, about artificial life support, and other things that either one of you could be faced with. I will tell you that now 4 years after Mickey’s death, donating his organs is the only thing that came out of that entire week that I feel positive about and this was something we had discussed already.
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| This is Beth, her husband Mickey, and their two daughters. The unthinkable happened to this family about four years ago and they lost Mickey during duty, just months before retirement. She wanted to share the difficult but very important advice that every police man and their family needs to be aware of. I appreciate her telling us her story and I wanted to share what she had to say, even if it’s painful to think about.
Janet Hamblin’s Advice for Police Wives:
My husband has been a police officer for 30 years and is scheduled to retire May of 2014. We are ready to move into the next phase of our lives but also, he is experiencing some grief and anxiety. As you know, the work family becomes our second family and so much of their identify surrounds being a police officer. Just another thing we will work through.
My children are now grown and NOW understand Dad missing ball games, track meets, school plays, art shows, open houses, holidays, etc. It has not always been easy but we’ve managed to hold it all together.
As the chief’s wife, I’ve provided a lot of advice to the rookie’s wives over the years. My best advice is to be supportive, understanding, and don’t nag them when they are called to fill a mandatory shift or when they “don’t feel like” doing anything on their day off.
Also, form a network and friendship among the other wives. Your other friends will not understand shift work and your crazy lives the way these women will. Again, in an emergency, they will gladly watch your children or pet sit for you.
Lastly, love them. Even when you don’t want to. Day in-day out, they deal with people who a having the worst day of their lives. Your love and understand will make a difference.
 Chief Randy D. Hamblin |
Email me your tips and a picture and I will post your ideas too!
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