“A Legacy”: A fallen Ogden officer’s plaque was posted on the Utah Law Enforcement Memorial Wall

SALT LAKE CITY (ABC4) – Almost a year ago Ogden police officer Nathan Lyday was shot dead while responding to a domestic violence phone call. On Thursday, his memory was honored in a somber and moving ceremony at the Utah Law Enforcement Memorial on the State Capitol grounds.

Gun shots, pigeons, and bagpipe music filled the air as Lyday’s widow Ashley added his plaque, the 147th placed on the memorial wall.

“It is a great honor for our family that Nathan has remembered and honored,” Officer Lyday’s mother, Nancy, tearfully told ABC4 News. “As a 24-year-old, he left quite a legacy.”

6th grade girls injured 3 while shooting at Idaho school

Lyday had only been an officer for 15 months when he was fatally wounded on May 28, 2020.

“You feel like it only happened yesterday, but then it was almost a year,” said Nancy. “I can’t believe it and I’ll pick up the phone, I have to tell Nate and it won’t go away.”

Officer Lyday’s father, Andrew, spoke at the ceremony.

“I still expect to come around the corner of the house and show up and say, ‘Sorry.’ I’ve been away a bit, but I’m back, ”Andrew said to the participants. “Or to get a call from him. I still feel the urge to call him sometimes just to keep him updated and just to talk. “

Woman dead, hundreds without power after Riverton crash

Although Lyday is gone, his ministry and sacrifice live on with a permanent place on the wall and in the heart of his family.

“We hear ‘Never Forgotten’ but gradually it’s just a natural occurrence, but there will always be a little bit of Nate,” said Nancy. “Now I have a place that you can come and have a little bit and remind yourself that the things it stood for were right.”

In October, the Lydays are planning a trip to Washington DC, where their son’s name will be added to the National Fallen Officers Memorial.

Also on Thursday, officials added a plaque to the Utah wall in honor of Highway Patrol Trooper Franklin Schaerrer, who was injured on duty in 1945 and later died of complications.