(September 2, 1965-January 19, 2002)

NORWOOD--The funeral for Dennis Elisha LaPage, 36, of 8104 Cadence Court, North Charleston, S.C., formerly of Norwood, will be at 10 a.m. Monday at St. Andrew’s Church with the Rev. Paul Worczak, pastor, officiating. Spring burial will be in Visitation Cemetery, Norfolk.

 Mr. LaPage, a police office with the City of Charleston (S.C.) Police Department, was shot and killed Saturday by a man who was on a shooting spree in Charleston.

 Calling hours will be 7 to 9 p.m. Sunday at Buck Funeral Home.

(Taken from the Thursday, January 24, 2002 edition of the Watertown Daily Times, page 31).

NORWOOD--Charleston, S.C., police officer and former Norwood resident Dennis Elisha LaPage was dedicated to his public duty and to his family, according to relatives mourning his death Saturday in a shooting spree.

 "He was a public servant--that’s what he wanted to do. He was very devoted to his job," older sister Gloria A. Bezio said this morning from North Carolina enroute to Charleston, where services will be held Thursday. "He was a wonderful, caring person. He’d do anything for anybody."

 Mr. LaPage, 36, 1983 graduate of Norwood-Norfolk Central School, was killed Saturday night after emergency medical services nurses approached a car crash to see if anyone was hurt, according to an article in the Post and Courier newspaper of Charleston.

 The gunman shot the nurses with a .40-caliber semi-automatic pistol, killing one, and then met up with Mr. LaPage, who was off duty and working as a security guard at a private dormitory for College of Charleston students, the newspaper said.

 The gunman killed Mr. LaPage--who was wearing his police uniform, badge and a bulletproof vest--with shots to the head, back and elbow, the paper said.

 Marko Dupree Drayton, 19, Charleston, has been charged with two counts of murder, assault and battery with intent to kill, and possession of a firearm during a violent crime, according to the newspaper. During a police interview, he said he was Jesus Christ and that he was invincible, according to the newspaper. During a bond hearing Sunday, he quoted the Bible and claimed to be above the law, the paper reported.

 Mr. LaPage lived in the north country for about a year after graduating from high school, then joined the Navy, where he was a submarine machinist, Mrs. Bezio said. He worked as a police dispatcher in Charleston before becoming an officer, she said.

 Mrs. Bezio said her brother will be deeply missed.

 "I know he loved his job and his two stepchildren," she said. "He liked fishing. He liked to hunt. He liked a lot of outdoor activities."

 The funeral for Mr. LaPage, a resident of North Charleston, will be at 1 p.m. Thursday at Gaillard Municipal Auditorium, 77 Calhoun St., Charleston. Burial will be at a later date in this area.

 Calling hours will be 6 to 8 p.m. Wednesday at J. Henry Stuhr Downtown Chapel, 232 Calhoun St., Charleston. Local arrangements with Buck Funeral Home, Norwood, are incomplete.

 Born Sept. 2, 1965, in Norwood, a son of Stewart and Loretta A. Collett LaPage, he married Jolene McCreary.

 He was a member of the Fraternal Order of Police and South Carolina Law Enforcement Officers Association.

 Surviving besides his wife are a stepson, Ralph Torbit, North Charleston; a stepdaughter, Jackie Torbit, also of North Charleston, three sisters, Mrs. Bezio, Ogdensburg, Elaine LaPage, Massena, and Tammy LaPage, Norwood; a niece and a nephew.

 His father died in 1983 and his mother died in 1984.

 Mrs. Bezio said the family hopes to hold a memorial service in Norwood when they return from South Carolina, either Saturday or Monday.

(Taken from the Tuesday, January 22, 2002 edition of the Watertown Daily Times.)