WEST PALM BEACH — It’s the quiet moments, the little things that often are taken for granted in life, that Lorraine Yaslowitz misses most about her husband, her rock, her spiritual partner of nearly 18 years.
She misses their games of Scrabble. She misses cuddling on the sofa watching Friends. She misses lounging in the spa for late-night talks and their runs to stay fit. He made her laugh. He knew how to calm her down.
“He had this uncanny ability to help me realize I’ve done something wrong, but without making fun of me,” she said. “He was the only person who could ever do that.”
But on Jan. 24, those moments would be gone forever. Jeffrey Yaslowitz, a St. Petersburg police officer, responded to a call for backup to serve a warrant on a suspect wanted for aggravated battery. The suspect, found hiding in the attic, told the officers he was going to surrender.
Instead, he opened fire, killing Jeffrey and a police sergeant, and wounding a deputy U.S. Marshal.
Jeffrey Yaslowitz. Gone. Like that. At age 39. Husband. Father. Hero cop.
Lorraine met Jeffrey in 1992 while both were students at Palm Beach Atlantic University. She was studying elementary education, and he psychology. The attraction was instant.
“He was really cute,” Lorraine told more than 400 PBAU students Thursday morning as part of the school’s Homecoming Week. “I said, ‘I could marry him.’ ”
And just months after they first met, Jeffrey proposed.
Shortly after getting pregnant with their first child, Caleb, now 12, Jeffrey asked his wife what she thought about him becoming a police officer.
She didn’t think it would suit his personality. Jeffrey, she said, was quiet and laid-back. Still, she encouraged him to try it.
The job was a natural fit. Jeffrey became a K-9 officer, working with a German shepherd named Ace, now their family pet . Lorraine was impressed.
“I watched him excel at something I thought he’d stink at,” she said.
After Caleb was born, Lorraine and Jeffrey had two other children, Haylie, and Calen, now 9 and 6, respectively.
“I felt like we had it all,” Lorraine said. “We were so blessed.”
Then came Jan. 24.
Lorraine, a kindergarten teacher, was pulled out of her classroom by a school administrator and rushed to the hospital. Her husband, shot twice in the head, was already dead by the time she got there.
“The doctor said he didn’t make it,” Lorraine said softly, choking back tears. “I said, ‘What do you mean?’ I need more.’ ”
Instead of wallowing in grief, Lorraine, 42, turned to God to make sense of her husband’s murder.
“I could hear the Lord whispering, ‘Stay with me. I have a plan.’ ”
That plan led Lorraine to start Partners for Life Foundation, an organization that supports families, like hers, who have lost loved ones because of acts of violence. It raised $20,000 during the inaugural Partners for Life Police Appreciation Run in May.
“God has given me a lot,” Lorraine said. “I had to give some of it away.”
In recent months, Lorraine has been giving inspirational speeches throughout Florida. During her 20-minute talk at PBAU, family pictures were displayed on video screens. Lorraine couldn’t help but look at them as she relived her engagement, family vacations and picnics. Memories that will last a lifetime.
She takes comfort in knowing her time with Jeffrey isn’t over.
“I know,” Lorraine said, “I’m going to see him again.”
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