THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1994, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Sunday, August 21, 1994 TAG: 9408190277
SECTION: VIRGINIA BEACH BEACON PAGE: 04 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY TOM HOLDEN, STAFF WRITER
LENGTH: Long : 118 lines
A police officer will play Taps today over the casket of Capt. Clyde W. Hathaway, the commanding officer of the Virginia Beach Police Department's Fourth Precinct.
When the ceremony ends and his friends, fellow officers and family walk away from Colonial Grove Memorial Park they will leave behind a beloved and respected colleague.
Among the city's most creative officers, Hathaway helped shape many innovative community police programs that were credited with cutting certain crimes while raising community awareness about the need for people to get involved.
His work brought a sense of pride to the 600-member force.
Hathaway, 64, who led the resort area's Second Precinct during the tumultuous riots of 1989, founded Crime Solvers, coached Little League and was the father of six children, died Thursday from the effects of a brain tumor.
``He was a true professional,'' said Capt. Melton ``Mickey'' Beane, acting commander of the Fourth Precinct. ``Dedicated, very sensitive to the community, he was instrumental in many community police programs. He was well liked, not only by the troops but by the community.
``He was, as they say, a policeman's policeman. He was a role model for the young officers, both in the leadership and his own street experience.''
The son of a flower bulb farmer, Hathaway grew up in West Islip, Long Island, N.Y., and graduated from Long Island Agricultural and Technical Institute in Farmingdale before he signed on with the Air Force as a corporal during the Korean War.
While in the service he married Margaret Fisher on Aug. 11, 1951, in Schenectady, N.Y., and eventually the couple moved to Virginia Beach where they began their family.
His interest in agriculture landed him a job with the Tidewater Bulb Farm on property now known as Hilltop. But Hathaway felt another pull and joined the Princess Anne County Police Department in 1961. When the resort city merged with the county, he became part of the Virginia Beach Police Department.
His rise through the ranks came as the town grew from a small, seaside resort into a sprawling suburban city with complicated police problems for which Hathaway sought creative solutions.
Hathaway was interested in making the department more proactive with programs that prevent teenagers from getting into trouble that could plague them for a lifetime.
``He was so innovative,'' said Lt. Jack W. Collins, of the Fourth Precinct. ``He initiated Crime Solvers, and he was instrumental in beginning the truancy abatement program in the Fourth Precinct and that has helped lower residential burglaries.''
In recent years, Hathaway focused his energies on wayward teenagers, who seemed destined for trouble unless someone stepped in.
``He was very big on identifying schools with at-risk kids,'' Collins said. ``He'd find them and get them into summer programs at the YMCA and then he'd get volunteer teachers to help tutor them. This volunteer effort was tremendous. And he got the parents involved, too. He made them responsible.''
Collins, like many mid-level officers, considered Hathaway a trusted friend.
``He was like my second father,'' Collins said. ``He was a man who was proactive, very aggressive, but he had a demeanor about him that he always seemed to come across very well with people.''
Like any police commander, he had to tell people things they did not want to hear, but Collins remembered even those episodes as learning experiences.
``He was the kind of guy who could bring you into the office, tell you where you went wrong, talk to you, and help you get back out there,'' he said. ``He always spoke his mind and did so in a very tactful way.''
Sgt. Frank LaPorta, of the First Precinct, said, ``He understood politics and how to get things accomplished. He was liked by everyone. The unfortunate thing is he had so much more planned for the future, wonderful ideas for the police and community, that he can't implement now.''
Hathaway was known as a hands-on supervisor, one who was able to communicate with all levels of the police hierarchy.
``But you never felt he was imposing rank on you to get things done,'' LaPorta said. ``He was a good salesman and displayed a sincere effort for the policemen, too.
``He was a wonderful man. He inspired me. I hope I can be half the supervisor he was. The department and the city has lost a great person and a great leader.''
Hathaway, however, was not always in sync with the department's senior administration, sometimes preferring to move quickly on projects in which the senior staff wanted a more cautious approach.
Hathaway would forge ahead, and more than once found himself out on a limb, until other administrators saw the benefit of his ideas and joined him. His willingness to take chances earned him a beloved reputation.
``They didn't call it the Fourth Police Precinct,'' Collins said. ``They called it the Kempsville Police Department, the KPD, and Clyde was the chief!''
Hathaway first discovered he was sick in March while on vacation in Hawaii, said Peggy Hathaway, his wife of 43 years.
They were strolling around the island one day when he lost his balance. Troubled by it, Hathaway received medical care and eventually returned to the mainland. But the problems persisted.
When a doctor later identified the problem as a brain tumor, he kept his spirits up, continuing to work out at Wareing's Gym where he'd been a regular for years, she said.
After surgery, he was not the same.
``He was still striving,'' said Peggy Hathaway. ``He loved to do his rehabilitation work and continued to believe that things would get better. He was anxious to get back to work. It was not until the last two weeks that he finally accepted that it was not going to happen.''
City Councilman Linwood Branch's comments were typical of those outside the close network of officers.
``He was a true professional and a true gentleman,'' he said. ``He was down here during some of the most difficult times we have faced. He was always accessible and was a very capable precinct captain. We're going to miss him very much.'' ILLUSTRATION: Photo
Capt. Clyde W. Hathaway
1930-1994
by CNB