Winter Garden Police Department loses officer to cancer

Terry Westwood always wanted to serve his community as a police officer. But before he could fulfill that dream, he led a life of service and dedication in other ways — in the United States Navy, as an insurance agent assisting people in planning for their future, and as a husband and father and provider.

When he reached his mid-40s, Terry Westwood made the decision to attend the police academy. Eight months later, he graduated and eventually landed an officer position with the Winter Garden Police Department.

His career, however, lasted only four years. After a cancer diagnosis Terry Westwood died Dec. 29, 2022. He was 50.

“He’d always wanted to be (an officer),” said his wife, Tonya Westwood. “He was in the Navy; that’s where we met. He got a job out of the Navy in insurance sales; he just moved up, made good money. He put me and the kids before; it would have been a huge step backward financially for him to be a police officer.”

Chief Steve Graham said he hired Westwood in 2018 because of his determination and the life experience that comes with age.

“He was assigned to Night 2 shift, I think the guys on that shift referred to him as ‘Pops,’ and he endeared himself to them,” Graham said.

Terry Westwood wanted to work in traffic enforcement and made it through the rigorous and demanding motorcycle training, Graham said.

Tonya Westwood said because of staffing issues, her husband was temporarily placed on the night shift until he could transfer to the motorcycle unit. A motorcycle was waiting for him and even had his name on it, she said.

THE DIAGNOSIS

By the time Terry Westwood was diagnosed with duodenum cancer April 1, 2022, doctors said it was aggressive and already had metastasized to his liver. He had started having symptoms in October 2021, Tonya Westwood said, but a scan showed nothing. He was treated for an ulcer, but when the symptoms lingered, doctors scheduled a colonoscopy and endoscopy.

Those had to be rescheduled when he got COVID-19, and he couldn’t be seen until February. His official diagnosis came after more detailed testing in April. Tonya Westwood said doctors told them his only hope was surgery — but he had to have chemotherapy to try to shrink the cancer enough for surgeons to remove it.

This regimen of five chemo treatments every two weeks until November didn’t work, Tonya Westwood said, so they tried another.

“He was sick the entire time; he just got weaker and weaker,” she said. “Because of his pain level, he couldn’t get any relief.”

One last ray of hope came when doctors sent Terry Westwood to the University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center in Houston last December — but doctors there said there was nothing they could do and it was time to bring in hospice care.

HE MADE IT TO 50

The couple returned home defeated but determined to take one last vacation together, so the family — including their children, 18-year-old Kaitlyn and 13-year-old Preston — spent a weekend fishing on the lake at Camp Margaritaville in Auburndale.

Terry Westwood’s health rapidly declined, his wife said, and he wasn’t very coherent on Christmas Eve — his 50th birthday.

“Christmas Day, I woke him up and let him know it was Christmas,” Tonya Westwood said. “The kids came in and sat on his hospital bed in the bedroom and opened their presents. He was awake, and he watched them. I had recorded the Pittsburgh Steelers game the night before, so he was able to watch it. … He was in and out, so I kept rewinding it. He actually ate that night, and he ate some of his birthday cake, and he ate some potatoes — and really that was the last time we talked.

“He wanted to make it to 50, and he did,” his wife said.

The Westwoods were one month away from celebrating their 26th wedding anniversary. They met in the U.S. Navy, where he served from 1991 to 1997. They moved to Clermont in 2002.

“We had a lot of fun,” she said. “We always had fun, no matter what. He was the fun guy. He made you laugh. He made me laugh. He was a good dad. He was a good husband. He was a good provider. He loved us. He never told me no, never.”

Terry Westwood’s funeral was held Jan. 4 at Woodlawn Memorial Park & Funeral Home in Gotha. The WGPD took part in the service and brought his motorcycle.

The police department has been good to the family, Tonya Westwood said. Throughout Terry’s illness, officers and lieutenants made frequent visits and the chief checked in regularly.

“They were really great, and they kept him on the insurance the entire time,” Tonya Westwood said. “That was a big deal. They’ve just been really gracious, and I’m very thankful. And they really are family.”

When Terry Westwood had to go on disability, officers in the department donated their sick leave so he could continue to receive a paycheck.

“With everything else going on, we didn’t have to worry about depleting our savings,” Tonya Westwood said.

The department created two framed gifts for Tonya Westwood: a shadow box that includes Terry Westwood’s official photo, badge, officer bars, police department patch and challenge coins; and a collage of photos with Westwood and his fellow officers.

A photograph of Officer Westwood will hang in the training room, Graham said.

“He loved being a police officer, and he loved helping people, and he helped people his whole life,” Tonya Westwood said. “He served his country, and as an insurance agent he helped people plan for their future and he made sure he planned for my future. And I’m grateful for that. And then he was a police officer and just helped people in so many ways. He was such a calm person. He was very low key. He didn’t have to be the brightest star in the room.

“We had fun. We loved taking vacations and having fun with the kids and making memories. We took a lot of cruises, and, thank God we took those. Those are good memories.”

In a Facebook post after her husband’s death, Tonya Westwood wrote: “Make those memories and laugh. Laughter and love is the best combination.”