A letter of thanks and words of emotion from the wife of fallen Clay County Detective David White.

He was shot dead in a drug raid on a home in Middleburg in February.

Jennifer White says this has been devastating to her family.  She calls David an All-American hero. 

The couple has two children, and Jennifer says she will do her best to make Dave proud by being a strong mother for them. 

Here is the entire letter:

Dear Citizens of Clay County: March 27, 2012

I wish to thank the community and the Clay County Sheriff's Office for their support and for surrounding us with prayer. This has been devastating to our family as my husband, Detective David White, is an extraordinary man. I have had the amazing privilege to be married to this gentle, courageous, loving, All-American hero for almost ten years. We have a four-year-old daughter and six month old son, so I will do my best to make Dave proud by being a strong mother for them.

This has changed our lives forever, but the outreach from the community has been such a help. In particular, I would like to express my gratitude for the care and friendship of the Clay County Sheriff's Office Narcotics and Street Crimes Units. I always tell our little girl, "These are Daddy's friends", and we have now been embraced by their friendship as well. I would also like to thank my employer, Orange Park Medical Center, for their support and for the time off to be with our children. I am so thankful Dave and I chose to make our home and raise our children in Clay County. It is a blessing to live in such a wonderful place and to know - despite the extremely bad few - most people are still good and caring.

It was said so well at the service for Dave that he has just changed his residence, but is not gone. He lives on in us. We refer to Dave in the present-tense because he did not stop being wonderful and he did not stop loving us. We certainly have not stopped loving him. We miss him terribly, but we remain committed and faithful to always loving him and know we will be with him again.

Once again, my thanks to you all. Please continue to remember Dave and support the Sheriff's Office. In this way, we will continue to honor my best friend, Detective Dave White.

With gratitude,

Mrs. Jennifer White