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Sep 11, 2006 9:36 am US/Central
Family Coping With Officer's Death, 1 Year Later
by Karla Hult
(WCCO)
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The Silvera family before Officer Shawn Silvera was killed in the line of duty.
CBS
It has been one year since Lino Lakes, Minn. police officer Shawn Silvera died after being struck by a car and his family continues to remember him.
The man accused of hitting Silvera as he was lying down stop sticks heads to trial this week. Steven Stanke, 27, is accused of running down Silvera in the course of a high-speed chase.
Stanke has been charged with first-degree murder for Silvera's death.
Between the anniversary of Silvera's death and the trial, this month is nothing short of overwhelming for his family.
"I think I will be just as puzzled when I'm 89 years old as I am today at why something so horrific had to happen," said Jennifer Silvera, Shawn Silvera's widow.
Memories of a lost husband and father are never far away. As 2-year-old Jordan played with a police car, Jennifer Silvera reminded him that his father drove a police car.
"I try not to be so hard on myself," Jennifer Silvera said. "When I hear the phrase 'moving on', I think, 'I'm just so glad, I'm just so grateful I'm moving on.'"
She is moving on, as the single mother of Jordan and 1-year-old Madelyne.
"They're both a lot of fun," Jennifer Silvera said. "It's like two pieces of their dad, like different views of him for me."
She is accepting her new life, while applying the very idea Shawn Silvera shared with her days before his death: To be here now and to live life in the moment.
"That instead of worrying about what we're going to make for dinner or worrying about what we're going to do tomorrow, we are just living in the moment of how we're going to get through that moment," Jennifer Silvera said.
On Sunday night, Jennifer received support from more than 350 people at the Hilton Hotel in Minneapolis for the "Be Here Now" benefit celebration.
The event raised money for charity though a dinner and silent auction.
"Even in his death, I believe he that he witnesses to many and his life tells a story that can bring hope to others," Jennifer Silvera said.
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