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Date: 4/20/2017
EAST LONGMEADOW – Michael Krol only lived in East Longmeadow for a short three years, but the death of the Dallas, TX, police officer on the streets of that city last July is still reverberating though the community.
A 1994 graduate of East Longmeadow High School, Krol was one of five Dallas officers killed when a sniper opened fire on officers working an otherwise peaceful Black Lives Matter protest march on July 7, 2016.
Sixty people – including family, friends and local dignitaries – gathered in front of the high school on April 15 to remember the standout athlete and friend to so many, memorializing his time at the school by adding his name to the Spartan Walkway. Among those attending the ceremony were state Sen. Eric Lesser, East Longmeadow Police Chief Jeffrey Dalessio and a contingent of four officers, numerous members of the class of 1994 and Krol’s mother, Susan Ehlke, who traveled from Michigan to attend the ceremony.
Edward Dubish, a close friend of Krol’s while he attended ELHS, recalled how the two met at a football practice the beginning of sophomore year, shortly after Krol’s family moved to East Longmeadow. He quickly learned the two played the same position, but after a short stint with the team – and a spectacular showing on the field – Krol chose to concentrate on basketball instead.
Nevertheless, Dubish said he and Krol remained friends throughout high school, and their easy friendship was something he saw repeated over and over again with other members of the class of 1994.
“It didn’t take Mike long to make friends, I don’t remember Mike being really outgoing, he had kind of a shy personality, but he was very kind and very friendly, and I think people gravitated toward him for that.”
And he lamented not answering the message Krol left on his home phone the day before his family moved back to Michigan. Dubish said he’s spent time on and off over the past 23 trying to locate the friend he’d lost track of.
“I can’t think about my high school years without thinking about Mike. I miss him,” Dubish said. “I always thought I would see him someday on the street, and I would yell his nickname …and I won’t get that chance and it makes me sad.
“I’m very proud to have known him now that he passed.” Dubish continued. “I’m sure the man he grew up to be wasn’t much different from that kind soul I knew in high school.”
Michael McKenna, another of Krol’s friends, expressed his gratitude to Susan Ehlke for traveling back to East Longmeadow to allow Krol’s friends and classmates to “express what Mike meant to us, who he was as a classmate and how he touched our lives.”
McKenna also praised the members of the Michael Krol Memorial Service committee: classmates Tony Gentile, Jenifer (Cunningham) Maccarini, Sue (Villamaino) Mantoni and Nathan Oliveri for “all your efforts to bring all these people together, family members and classmates, who want to honor Mike’s life. Your dedication to this will never be forgotten.”
Comparing Krol’s attitude toward life to a scene from the 1996 movie, “Jerry Maguire” where Maguire explains to a client why he’s not getting the contract he wants because he doesn’t play with heart, McKenna said “Maguire would have loved Mike Krol. Mike was inspiring just by how he worked at something, and we know he was all heart.”
McKenna quoted from a social media post by Steve Baxter, another friend of Krol, who recalled how during the first basketball game of senior year, Krol’s actions against an aggressive point guard summed up the man he was.
“That was Krol, a basketball lane protector, a friend protector and up to his last day in Dallas, a people protector,” Baxter wrote.
McKenna said all of those who knew Krol as a standout basketball player and friend in high school knew him as a police officer, even though time and miles might have separated them.
“I didn’t know Mike as a police officer, but I did, and you all did know Mike as a police officer, just take a look back at those qualities, the tremendous work ethic, and the relentless passion for doing what he loved. Where before it was on the court, now it was on duty, ” he said. “Awe-inspiring, and all-heart.”
During his remarks, Police Chief Jeffrey Dalessio noted that Krol was among a growing number of police officers across the country that have died in the line of duty in recent years. He said that although Krol was a member of the Dallas police force, his name was one of four officers with Massachusetts roots added to the names of the fallen at the annual Massachusetts Law Enforcement Memorial at the State House on Sept 21, 2016.
Following his remarks, Dalessio presented Ehlke with an American flag that had flown over the State House during the ceremony.
Susan Ehlke then thanked everyone for attending and for sharing stories that she “never knew” about her son.
“As a mom you always worry if your kids are adjusting, are they making friends, and it sounds as though everything was going well,” during the years the family spent in East Longmeadow. “It is great to see all of his classmates that have turned into such fine adults.”
Her son, she said, followed his dream, “to always help others” when he joined the Dallas police force.
The ceremony concluded with a moment of silence and the singing of “Make Me a Channel of Your Peace” by fellow 1994 classmate Cathy (Henry) Allen.
According to ELHS Principal Richard Freccero, Krol is the only graduate to have died in the line of duty in the past 30 years.