Clarence Robertson volunteered for 56 years as a reserve deputy

MONROE — Clarence Robertson proudly wore the badge and uniform.

He quietly went about his business as a Snohomish County Sheriff’s reserve deputy for 56 years. He was 80 when he died earlier this month.

Robertson didn’t get paid for all those countless hours and most certainly didn’t want any credit. He remained a loyal volunteer to the end and had even been on this week’s schedule for Evergreen State Fair duty.

“He never let his age slow him down,” Sheriff Ty Trenary said.

His colleagues described him as a calm, friendly and modest man who’d always bring home-baked rhubarb pie and cookies to share at fair time. Robertson was 24 when he joined the reserve force in 1959 — when gas cost 25 cents a gallon, the nation liked Ike and Alaska and Hawaii joined the union.

It was a far different era for local law enforcement.

“For many decades, there was only one deputy on patrol during the graveyard shift in the north precinct, and one in the south precinct, keeping the citizens of Snohomish County safe at night,” Trenary said. “More often than not, that deputy was Clarence.”

In a 2013 interview, Roberston recalled a time when the sheriff’s office had four patrol cars. There were no portable radios, no 911 and certainly no cellphones. Back then, he’d swing by call boxes scattered hither and yon to pick up his dispatch calls. Backup, if there was any, was many miles away.

“You had what you had,” he said. “Most of our training was on the street.”

In recent years, he spent time helping the Snohomish County Regional Drug and Gang Task Force. Well into his 70s, he received certification to operate a telephone pole lineman’s bucket truck to install surveillance cameras.

“I’m proud of what I do, but I don’t go around bragging about it,” Robertson said. “It’s gotten to where I couldn’t imagine living a life not involved in law enforcement.”

Likewise, it’s hard for his colleagues to imagine him not being around. In 2012, at the age of 77, he was the sheriff’s department’s reserve deputy of the year.

Trenary said Robertson will be missed on the road and at the fair where he was a radio dispatcher keeping officers in constant communication as thousands of visitors roamed the grounds. His colleagues are putting together a small memorial that includes photos, one of his old training manuals and a 1960s-era police jacket.

“Clarence always had a smile on his face,” said David Scontrino, a reserve deputy who worked with Robertson for 33 years. “He was even-keeled and would be calm even if Rome was burning. You knew he would always be there.”

He led by example, always making it to training and ever willing to take a call.

“I just had so much respect for him,” fellow reserve deputy Pennie Sargent said.

Robertson lived in Snohomish his entire life, working as a telephone company lineman and technician. He was married for 47 years and was the father of three who were a constant source of pride.

Robertson spent 40 years in the Naval Reserves as a radar operator where he worked on anti-submarine aircraft. He also earned a pilot’s license and was a founding member of the Cascade Flyers club.

“I considered him a real Steady Eddie,” said Pat Slack, a longtime sheriff’s deputy who’s been commander of the county’s drug task for many years. “He didn’t want any credit, no notoriety. He was just a great guy.”

Eric Stevick: 425-339-3446; stevick@heraldnet.com.