Memorial to honor fallen Shoshone County police officers

WALLACE — There have been two law enforcement officers who have fallen in the course of duty in the last 100 years of Shoshone County’s history.

Dedication of a memorial marker for fallen officers John Farris and Chuck Ashton will take place at 9 a.m. Thursday, Aug. 17, in front of the Shoshone County Courthouse.

The project to fund a memorial stone has been in the works for about two and a half years thanks to Roy Reel, Spike Angle, former Shoshone County Sheriff Mike Gunderson and Dan Schierman. With support from the Shoshone Board of County Commissioners and donations from Dave Smith Motors, the project began to come into focus in March of this year and plans for a dedication ceremony were made.

As a county dispatcher in the 1970s, Reel took the call when Earl Charles Ashton was killed in the line of duty. Reel has been a driving force in the memorial project.

The dedication ceremony will include representatives from local law enforcement with a color guard and bugle to honor the fallen law enforcement officers.

Wallace Police Officer John C. Farris, 66, was stabbed to death Jan. 31, 1946, after catching a suspect attempting to break into a grocery store. The suspect fled, but was later arrested after being shot by other officers.

Osburn Police Officer Earl Charles “Chuck” Ashton, 23, was shot and killed Aug. 17, 1976, after stopping the driver of a vehicle for traveling the wrong way on Interstate 90. As he approached the window of the vehicle, the male suspect fired at Ashton with a rifle and struck him in the neck as he attempted to push the barrel of the gun away.