Deputy was committed to aiding Latino community

8/5/2008

Moises Pacheco, Sr., 57, a 34-year veteran of the Lucas County Sheriff's Office, died Saturday at St. Charles Mercy Hospital.

His wife, Mable, described the cause of death as accidental and declined to elaborate.

A native of San Antonio, Mr. Pacheco and his family moved to Toledo when he was very young. Mr. Pacheco graduated from Woodward High School, where he participated in football, swimming, and wrestling.

As a young man, he helped organize a chapter of the Brown Berets, a group of young people dedicated to serving the Mexican-American community. The group focused on pushing for more high school counselors and teachers of Mexican descent, as well as seeing more Mexican-American history and culture taught in the classroom.

Later in life, Mr. Pacheco helped to found a Toledo chapter of the National Latino Peace Officers Association.

He remained committed to helping the Latino community and wanting to open doors for other Latino officers, his wife said.

"He wanted to let the Latinos know that it's about them too," Mrs. Pacheco said. "If you want something hard enough you can get it, but you have to work at it."

Mr. Pacheco enjoyed his work as a sheriff's deputy immensely, his wife said, including both the interaction with colleagues and learning about various aspects of law enforcement.

"It was his career," she said. "He enjoyed every bit of it."

He also helped unionize the deputies in the sheriff's office in the early 1970s, his wife said. It was in his character to be consistent and determined and follow through with everything he did, she said.

Mr. Pacheco also volunteered with numerous local organizations, including Ss. Peter and Paul Catholic Church, the Old Newsboys' Association, and the Lucas County Democratic Party, and coached elementary football and softball.

"Whenever something came up in regards to volunteering, he was there," Mrs. Pacheco said.

Outside of work and volunteering, he enjoyed fishing and followed University of Michigan football.

Mr. Pacheco is survived by his wife, Mable Pacheco; parents, Raymond Pacheco, Sr., and Alicia Pacheco; sons, Alejandro and Moises Pacheco, Jr., and Vernon, Matthew, and Anthony Daugherty; daughters, Rachel Pacheco, April Daugherty, and Tina Bullock; brothers, Edward Pacheco and Raymond Pacheco, Jr.; sisters Alicia Peppers, Gloria Rios, Linda Pacheco-Vera, Rosario Pacheco, and Maria Luisa Cole, and 11 grandchildren.

The body will be in the Newcomer Funeral Home, West Laskey Road, where the family will receive visitors after 5 p.m. tomorrow and after 2 p.m. Thursday.

A prayer service will begin at 9 a.m. Friday in the mortuary, followed by a 10 a.m. Mass at Ss. Peter and Paul Church on South St. Clair Street.

The family suggests tributes to the American Kidney Fund .