Stroke Survivor tells his story

Many have heard from the Star Wars® movies, "May the Force be with you!" For one local Portageville man, the Force was with him in November.

Tom Doering, suffered a massive stroke, and survived. In previous years, he had two other smaller strokes, but nothing as compared to the last one. Doering, a veteran police officer of the Portageville Police Department, saw his career come to an end, but the Higher Force, God Almighty, still has plans for him.

Doering was hired as a patrol officer under the realm of then Chief Joe Moore. "It was in April of 1988," Doering recalls. Through the years of seniority, he had reached the rank of Lieutenant. "I believe that Ronnie Adams and I were the only two officers left that were under Joe Moore," he said.

"Joe was a hard man to work for, and he wanted things his way. However, I believe that Moore was the right man at the time when Portageville was in its hay day. Now, he or anyone else could not get by with some of the things that were done back then."

Just a few of the Portageville Police officers pose in this 2008 file photo at City Hall. From left are John Henry Stevens, Captain Freddie Hill, Lt. Tom Doering, Chief Ronnie Adams, and officer Mark Stockton.

Just a few of the Portageville Police officers pose in this 2008 file photo at City Hall. From left are John Henry Stevens, Captain Freddie Hill, Lt. Tom Doering, Chief Ronnie Adams, and officer Mark Stockton.

Doering was in military service when he met his wife, Lynn. After his few trips to the Missouri Bootheel, he wanted to come live here. "The people here made me feel at home, I liked the lay of the land, the town, the county, everything was nice," he said. He is originally from Wakarusa, Ind.

When he became an officer, one was only required to have 120 police officer education hours. Then there was the continuous training that had to be done, 48 hours every three years. "I received my training through an extension program in Malden, in the old community center building. In recent years, I received training through the ITV site at the Delta Center," he explained.

Like most jobs, it has ups and downs. "The worst part about being a police officer were investigating suicides, and child or spouse abuse. That is really tough. At times, it was hard to be objective, and not let the emotions take over, not want the crime to fit the evidence, explained Doering.

His advice to those wanting to get into law enforcement, "Don't do it!" "An officer puts in a lot of hours, not just a 40 hour week, and the pay does not compare to what you have to deal with on a day to day basis. You will be in situations when you have to make a split decision in one second, be ready to get shot at, or shoot!"

"At the end, I know that I was there to help. Helping somebody, and making a difference. In a small town, you see a lot of the same people, but it's a different game and time," he said.

According to Police chief Ronnie Adams, "He was one of the best officers that I have worked with. He started out as an patrol officer and worked his way up to Lieutenant. He was a dedicated and hard working investigator. He put in a lot of time in his investigating."

"Tom was very fair and well liked by the community and other officers," said Adams.

However, for Lynn, she was constantly worried for his health. "Everyday when he would put on that bullet proof vest, and leave, I worried that there would be someone coming to the door, that something had happened," she said. "Now, I have no worries like that, I just hate that his career ended the way it did for him. He is still here, and only the good Lord above knows what is in store for us."

The Doering's are members of the First Assembly of God, where Bro. Poole is the pastor. They call themselves "Poolites".