Philliber began feeling like he had the flu in January. In February, he was diagnosed with the disease and admitted to the hospital.  "It was such a shock to all of us," Major Rob Turner said. "But we were all optimistic because of his optimism. We felt that if anyone could beat it, Darin could."

Philliber will be remembered at a funeral service Thursday as a model police officer, husband and father to his sons, Dylan, who turned 6 on Wednesday, and Daegan, 3.  "I will always tell my sons that I picked the very best father I could for them, because I did," Kori Philliber said. "I knew that when I met him."

Philliber joined the Tulsa police force on Oct. 1, 1991, as a patrol officer. When diplomacy, diligence and fairness were paramount, his supervisors came to him.  Sgt. Ed Pierce, one of Philliber's former supervisors, described him as balanced and fair. "I wish I had a whole squad of Darins," Pierce said.  "He helped keep some of the younger officers in check. He took care of business and was just an all-around good officer," he said. "But what was probably most impressive of all was his ethics."

Philliber trained three Tulsa Police Reserve officers, including Howard Cunningham.  "I would really describe him as a gentle man, in addition to being a gentleman," Cunningham said.  As a testament to his courtesy, ticket recipients often ended up thanking him, his wife said.

More than 100 of Philliber's fellow officers have donated portions of their paychecks to help the family with its needs. Also, Transok, the company where Kori Philliber worked, donated 17 round-trip airline tickets so that she and the children could travel to Houston, where Philliber was being treated, Detective Steve Geniuk said.   Many officers would have given him one of their sick days if they could," Geniuk said.

Officer Ken Daggs remembered being with Philliber during a call in August 1993 which led to both men receiving letters of commendation.  The officers had been called to investigate a report of a man with a gun inside a club. When the officers arrived, they approached the man to search him. He turned around and pointed the weapon at the officers.  The pair ended up wrestling the man to the ground and disarming him.

"Maybe God has a special mission in mind that only a special person like Darin could do," Daggs said. "That is how I am trying to come to terms with his loss."

Services were held at the Garnett Road Church of Christ under the direction of Moore's Southlawn Funeral Home.   -Nicole Marshall, World staff writer