This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2017, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.
After a Salt Lake County corrections sergeant died Friday, friends were rallying to raise money for the four children he left behind and comfort others mourning his loss.
Corey Carroll grew up a few miles away from Sgt. Chad Elwood Conrad, and the two had been friends since junior high. Carroll is planning a "fundraiser ride" for motorcyclists, automobile collectors and anyone else who wants to participate Saturday. The proceeds from the event will be donated to Conrad's children, Carroll said.
"If the roles were reversed, he would be doing the same type of thing to help" families that had lost someone, Carroll said.
Carroll remembered Conrad's love for his family and collection of classic cars. He was a "happy, bubbly person" who would "go out of his way to help anybody, not just as a police officer, but as a human being."
Carroll said the biker community is very supportive of police officers and wants to make sure Conrad's children "have something."
The sergeant's death left a "huge hole" in the corrections bureau, Unified police Lt. Brian Lohrke said Monday, and former colleagues were "trying to pull each other up" after a "tough weekend."
On Friday night, a family member found Conrad, 42, dead in his home with multiple gunshot wounds. In the driveway, Conrad's 23-year-old nephew David Bushman was dead with what police said appeared to be a self-inflicted gunshot wound.
Conrad was a "well-liked" man and a "dedicated father," Lohrke said, and people enjoyed being around him. Though the department has had "a lot" of deaths this year, Lohrke said this one is especially hard to deal with "because of the manner."
In Conrad's obituary, family members described him as a "loving," "inquisitive" person who "loved to tease." Conrad, who began working with the sheriff's office in 2001, maintained a "professional, yet humorous relationship with his fellow officers and inmates." He was a supportive father who actively attended the activities of his children, the obituary says.
Conrad also made family videos and short movies as a hobby, his obituary says. He enjoyed rebuilding automobiles and showing them off. Family members will miss his "big smile, sense of humor and his unique laugh," the obituary says.
Funeral services will be held Friday at 2 p.m. in the West Stake Center, 575 W. 400 North, in Spanish Fork, the obituary says. Friends and family may call from 10:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. Interment will be at Spanish Fork City Cemetery under the care of Olpin Stevens Funeral Home. A luncheon and open mic for friends and family will follow graveside services.
The next morning, registration for the ride will open at 8 a.m. at Legends Vintage Motorcycle, 1715 W. 500 South in Springville, with "kick stands up" at 10 a.m., Carroll said. The cost to join the ride is a $10 donation, Carroll said, and after the ride, the party will return to its point of origin for a raffle.
Twitter: @mnoblenews