On July 30, 1984, Det. Sgt. Don Davey was responding to an emergency call in Nobleboro. Davey was rounding a curve and collided with a tractor trailer. Both men died in the accident. On Aug. 4, Lincoln County honored Davey and another deputy, Reuben Blackman, as the department’s only officers who died in the line of duty.

Blackman died on May 5, 1933 responding to a Somerville domestic dispute. A monument listing both men’s names was a concept for over five years before county officials made it a reality. 

County Commissioner Mary Trescott served with Davey in 1984 as a deputy. “We’ve tried for years to find a way to honor Donnie, and finally somebody came along with this idea. So this spring, we decided to push it through,” she said. Trescott and three other people spoke about Davey’s service to the department. Trescott remembered hearing more scanner traffic than normal the night Davey died. “I woke up, and called the department and asked what was going on, and they told me Donnie had died,” she said. 

Dan Davey is a retired Knox County deputy and served with his brother, Don, in the Lincoln County Sheriff’s Department. He remembers his brother as a well-respected law enforcement officer.  “After his death, we received a lot of cards expressing how sorry they were about Donnie. The amazing thing was many were from people who he had arrested or written a citation. He was a man of exceptional character who handled people in such a way they thanked him, even after being arrested,” he said. 

Don Davey made an impression on several other Lincoln County deputies. Jeff Sewall worked in the department from 1979 to 1989. He remembers Davey as a true professional. “I worked the night Don died. There is not a day that passes when I don’t think about him. He represented everything in law enforcement that is good,” he said. “I know everything going on today hurts me for all what you guys (current law enforcement officers) are going through.” 

Seth Blodgett is a detective with the Maine Attorney General’s Office. He worked for the Lincoln County Sheriff’s Department from 1984 to 2001. He described Don Davey as a valued mentor. “Back then there wasn't the field training program we have now. We looked to Donnie and other senior detectives who took the time to help us which I have used throughout my 38 years in law enforcement,” Blodgett said. 

Davey’s widow Rindy (Davey) Cushman attended the ceremony with her daughter Cecilly Havener and two granddaughters Grace and Ruth Havener. Their son Don Davey Jr. and daughter Jessica Barrett and other grandchildren could not attend the ceremony. The family will gather in Edgecomb for a law enforcement reunion later this month with those who worked with Davey.