“Rest easy, brother. We’ll take it from here.”

With those words into a microphone Tuesday, across the Wiscasset Community Center’s gym boards from Officer Donald H. “Donnie” Smith’s family, Wiscasset Police Chief Troy Cline honored the life of the man Cline said had an unwavering dedication. Smith always strove to improve himself to better serve his community.

“He was not only a member of my team, he was my friend,” the chief said to a gathering of hundreds for Tuesday afternoon’s memorial service.

Smith, 48, died unexpectedly Jan. 7 at home in Wiscasset.

During the service, a uniform bearing Smith’s name pin was on display next to a wreath of flowers from the Wiscasset Police Department. State Police, along with members of the Lincoln and Sagadahoc County Sheriff’s Departments, Damariscotta and Boothbay Harbor police, Two Bridges Regional Jail staff and several other public safety agencies attended.

Among others turning out were Town Manager Marian Anderson, Wiscasset Speedway owners Richard and Vanessa Jordan, and District Attorney Geoffrey Rushlau.

During visiting time before the service, Smith’s wife Janet said her husband would have been overwhelmed by the turnout of officers and others.

“He did things for other people, and not wanting recognition for what he did,” Smith said.

She said she was overwhelmed by the support she has received from law enforcement and from the town of Richmond, where she serves as town manager.

Assembling for a fellow officer’s memorial service is the ultimate show of respect in law enforcement, the Wiscasset Police Department’s chaplain Wally Staples said.

“And it’s to be reverent to a man’s life that stopped, and certainly to his family and the rest of law enforcement. It’s a brotherhood,” Staples said.

The service started with bagpipes playing, and law enforcement agencies’ procession from the senior center, through the lobby and into the gym. Then a slide show to Lynyrd Skynyrd’s “Simple Man” featured family and law enforcement photographs and honors from a career that included service on the Wiscasset Fire Department and Wiscasset Ambulance Service, 22 years with the Lincoln County Sheriff’s Department and since 2007, with Wiscasset Police Department.

Lincoln County Sheriff Todd Brackett recalled once having an uneasy time bringing in a new inmate for booking. Smith, working the booking desk, got the person calmed down. Then Smith turned to Brackett. “(He) said, ‘What’d you wind him up for?’”

Brackett and Cline said Smith was passionate, direct with his opinions, which they valued; Brackett and Smith had worked closely as union leaders. He still isn’t sure if Smith voted for him when he first ran for sheriff.

Smith’s smile was ever-present, like the time he let his dogs out when Cline was on a traffic stop near Smith’s home. Seeing the dogs, which Cline compared to horses, the people Cline had stopped were cooperative.

Smith’s loss will leave a void, but he is now answering a higher calling, Cline said.

The programs for the service included “A Police Officer’s Prayer.” It reads in part: “I ask for strength, strength of body to protect others and strength of spirit to lead others. I ask for dedication, dedication to my job to do it well. Dedication to my community to keep it safe.”

Near the end of Tuesday’s service, those gathered heard a police radio call that went out hours after Smith’s death.

“Rest in peace,” the call concluded.