A World War II veteran and father of two small boys, Harold Shaw had nearly 10 years of experience at the Rochester Police Department when he joined in 1950.

The end of his watch came on December 11, 1959, when he was shot and killed in the line of duty.

"I was at home, it was a Friday," recalls David Shaw, Officer Shaw's oldest son. He recalls his father, who stood at 6-foot-4, as “gentle…just a real quality man.”

David was 9 years old when police delivered the news to his family.

"Kind of a terror kind of a feeling went over me," David said.

Officer Shaw interrupted a burglary at an oil company on Ambrose Street where he exchanged gunfire with two suspects, but he never had a chance. Both men were charged and convicted in his death.

"I remember for days and weeks after that, I would always be waiting for my Dad to come home from work, still going, he'll be coming. It was like a surreal event," David said.

The event, nearly 60 years ago, is still painful for David who lives in Houston, Texas. He said he treasures his childhood memories.

"My dad was the dad that always would be out there playing baseball with the kids, coaching them…everybody in the neighborhood loved him," David said.

In Rochester, David's younger brother is a resident at Monroe Community Hospital.

Ken Shaw keeps a framed newspaper article and pictures of his father on the wall, a constant reminder of his legacy.

He was 19 months old when his dad died. Ken says without the pictures, he wouldn't have any other memory.

Ken wrote a book called Trying to fill the Void. But he wasn't the only family member to express his feelings in print.

Nearly 40 years after her husband's death, Mary Shaw wrote a journal entitled, The Legacy of Harold V. Shaw, a Man of Valor.

Each page is filled with several quotes to describe Shaw as a husband, a father, a community member and a Rochester police officer.

"I think she was just trying to save the memories of my dad and put him in the best possible light," David said.

The journal is part of the memorabilia that has been collected by the Rochester police department. 

"It's just wonderful to see the memories that they have. I don't know if they'll ever, just like a member lost through a homicide or a car accident, I don't think you ever get over it. You just don't," said retired police Captain Lynde Johnston.

David said not a day goes by that he doesn't think of his dad.

"They just need to know he was in love with his family,” he said. “He was in love with the Lord and he felt like he was actually a public servant to serve and to help the community.”

Rochester Police Officer Harold Shaw; end of watch: December 11, 1959.