DUANE
Duane's take
Here's what the official marker for Richard A. Pauley has to say, and I'll do my best to tell it right. Now, some men spend their whole lives chasing a dream they had as a boy.
Richard A. Pauley was one of the rare ones who caught it. Born on March 20, 1882, Pauley made his way through life first as a rancher — and Coleman County ranch life will test a man, no question about that.
But somewhere deep down, he carried a boyhood wish. He wanted to be a law officer. And in 1923, the people of Coleman County handed him exactly that, electing him sheriff.
Now here's the thing about Richard Pauley that sets him apart from most every lawman you've ever heard of. He was widely respected as a true gentleman. And often — often — he did not carry a gun.
Not because he was careless, mind you, but because he believed something most men with a badge didn't always have the patience to believe: that the law would protect people, not hurt them. When he went after fugitives, he preferred to convince them of that. Talk them down.
Reason with them. Walk them back to justice without a shot fired. That's not naivety.
That's a particular kind of courage. On May 16, 1925, Sheriff Pauley was doing what sheriffs do — investigating. He went to look into a train car.
Inside were two stowaways. And those two stowaways shot him. He was survived by his wife, Kate Dancer Pauley, and their son, Russell.
A man who spent his career convincing others that the law was a shield, not a weapon — taken by the very violence he spent his life trying to talk the world out of. Coleman County remembered him. And now, out here on the road, so do we.
What the marker says
(March 20, 1882-May 16, 1925) A man who achieved boyhood wish to become a law officer, Pauley was a rancher before his election in 1923 to office of Coleman County sheriff. He was widely respected as a true gentleman. Often he did not carry a gun, preferring to convince fugitives that the law would protect, not hurt, them. He was shot by 2 stowaways while investigating a train car. His wife Kate Dancer Pauley and son Russell survived him. Recorded - 1968