Ten more days on the job, and Lt. Charles "Bo" Harrison would have ended his 31-year career in law enforcement with a farewell party and plenty of hugs and kisses from co-workers.
Like a lot of retirees, he planned to golf and fish.
But Harrison lost his life Sunday in the county he loved, doing the job he'd always wanted to do.
"He was a good friend and a great man," said Pasco Sheriff Bob White. "Everybody loved him."
Most people around town knew Harrison. As word spread Sunday, people mourned.
"Shock waves are going through the community today," said Dade City Mayor Scott Black. "This is a terrible loss."
Harrison grew up in Dade City, played baseball and football at Mickens High School. He was a star quarterback and pitcher, vice president of his senior class. He was best friends with Willie Broner, now the athletic director at Pasco High School.
They double-dated, were competitive.
"If a 19-year-old walked in right now and challenged him to a 50-yard dash, he would do it, and he would try to win," Broner said Sunday.
After Harrison's graduation in 1965, he joined the Army and was a paratrooper in Vietnam. After returning to Dade City, a friend suggested he apply at the Sheriff's Office. He was hired as a corrections officer, the second black person to join the department when he started in 1972.
By that time, he had met Lydia, the woman he later married.
They went to high school together, and Lydia remembers Harrison proposing in his no-frills way.
"I just started talking about weddings, and he said to set the date," Lydia Harrison recalled, laughing. "He didn't gush."
They had three children: Sandy, Charles Jr. and Michelle.
Lydia Harrison worried about her husband, recalling a fight they had when he returned home from work one night with blood on his clothes.
"I told him I wanted him to sit behind the desk and he refused," she said. "And then he earned so much respect in the community that it got to the point I didn't have to worry. The community was watching out for me while he was out there."
They later divorced but remained close.
In 1993, Harrison was promoted to lieutenant, becoming the highest-ranking black person to serve at the Sheriff's Office.
Everyone around town knew "Bo."
When sheriff's officials transferred Harrison to the county's west side in 1997, the community was outraged. Later, he was transferred back to the east side.
"My daddy loved his job and took pride in serving this community," said his daughter Sandy Harrison, 30, of Dade City.
The town felt the same.
"If you were standing there on the street talking to Bo, everybody riding by would honk their horn or call out a greeting," Mayor Black said.
Harrison was more than a local cop. He was one of the first black Little League coaches, and helped break down the color barrier in the organization.
He was involved in his church, wearing purple or plum colored suits when he sang in the choir at St. John Missionary Baptist in Dade City, often leading hymns with his baritone voice.
"He wasn't bashful about his voice, either," said Deacon Willie Craig.
Harrison's peach cobbler was a favorite among the congregation, as was his smile.
"He shared his love," Craig said. "He showed it. He didn't hide it."
About two weeks ago, Harrison and Sheriff White started talking about religion and death.
"We were saying that the moment you close your eyes in death, you are in the presence of the Lord," White said. "He was convinced of that."
The Sheriff's Office had planned a party for Harrison this month. His last official day was June 30, but because of vacation time, he planned to work just two more weeks.
Harrison's relatives spent much of Sunday in tears, remembering.
They know what he would tell them:
"He would say, "Y'all need to stop that crying and get this over with and let me rest in peace,"' said Lydia Harrison. " "I've done what God has put before me to do. It's time for y'all to grow up.' "
