Holly MatkinOdessa, TX – Ector County Independent School District Police Department (ECISDPD) Officer Misti Waldrop died on Nov. 27, following a three-year battle against lung cancer.
Officer Waldrop, 34, was diagnosed in December of 2017, according to a fundraising page established to help the single mother as she began chemotherapy and radiation treatment.
Her daughter, McKenzi, was just two years old at the time.
The ECISDPD announced Officer Waldrop’s death on Nov. 29.
“It is with heartfelt sorrow that we announce that Officer Misti Waldrop passed away on Friday, November 27th, from complications from her battle with cancer, which she had so bravely faced,” the department said in a Facebook post. “Officer Waldrop was an amazing person and an outstanding police officer and she will be so dearly missed. Rest easy, Officer Waldrop.”
Officer Waldrop began her law enforcement career at the age of 20, when she was hired as an Andrews County sheriff’s deputy, according to her obituary.
She served the sheriff’s office for nearly a decade before joining the ECISDPD.
Former Bonham Middle School Student Assistant Services Counselor Roger Hancock said in a memorial tribute that working with Officer Waldrop had been an honor.
“Always smiling, always positive and upbeat, she performed the duties of her position with the utmost professionalism and efficiency,” Hancock wrote. “To know her was to respect her in every capacity. My heart goes out to her family.”
In addition to her five-year-old daughter, Officer Waldrop also leaves behind her parents, siblings, grandparents, uncles, nieces, and nephews, according to her obituary.
Officer Waldrop was laid to rest on Dec. 3.
From: Ector County ISD Police Department. It is with heartfelt sorrow that we announce that Officer Misti Waldrop passed away on Friday, November 27th, from complications from her battle with cancer, which she had so bravely faced. https://t.co/nOoWcVdkfG
— USFRA.org (@usfraorg) December 2, 2020
Our thoughts and prayers are with the family of Ector County Independent School District Police Department Officer Misti Waldrop, both blood and blue. Thank you for your service.
Rest easy, hero. We’ll hold the line from here.
