"A Cop's Cop": Island Mourns Loss Of Former Nantucket Police Officer Michael Mabardy

Michael Mabardy got his start in law enforcement as a "summer special" officer on Nantucket back in 2004. He proved himself to the island police force, earning a full-time officer position with the Nantucket Police Department in 2007 after graduating from the police academy. Over the next four years, Mabardy left his mark on the island as an officer and hockey coach before eventually leaving Nantucket in 2011 to take a job with his hometown police department in Natick, Mass.

Mabardy, a father of four young girls, was pursuing another passion earlier this week - playing hockey with friends - when he collapsed and tragically passed away. He was 39.

As the news of his death spread this week, Mabardy was remembered fondly by his colleagues at the Nantucket Police Department, and numerous members of the community who he had connected with during his time on the island.

"I don't think you have enough time to hear all the awesome things that Mike was and is to everyone," said Heather Stevens Woodbury, the co-owner of Wicked Island Bakery and a close friend of Mabardy. Woodbury had travelled from Nantucket to Natick on Thursday to be with Mabardy's family. "He was an amazing father to his four girls, and he left his mark on a lot of people. He had this infectious laugh that we all seem to be remembering now."

Woodbury first met Mabardy during her days working at The Rose & Crown, but it was one interaction specifically with him as a police officer that showed his character, she said, and led to a long-held friendship.

"There was a situation with my good friend, and I remember he sat outside in his cruiser that night to make sure she felt safe, and that I knew she was safe," Woodbury said. "He went beyond what he had to do. That was it for me. I knew he was something special when he did that."

Mabardy was with the Natick Police Department for 11 years, and served as a canine officer with his German shepherd, the late Axl. During his four years as a full-time officer with the Nantucket Police Department, Mabardy served as the field training officer and was a member of the department's S.W.A.T team.

During his last year on Nantucket, Mabardy, along with other island police officers and first responders, were honored with the department's Life Saving Award for their efforts in rescuing 11 people from a basement apartment on Macy Lane who had been poisoned by carbon monoxide in May 2011.

Jack Moran, a former State Trooper on Nantucket, knew Mabardy as a colleague in law enforcement, but also as a mentor to young student athletes on the island when he joined Moran in coaching the Nantucket High School boys hockey team. Moran called Mabardy "a true friend."

"He was a kid at heart and a mentor to so many, including my own son," Moran said. "He was always by my side on the bench and had my back on the road. He loved this game and every single player he coached. He was the voice heard above all others. He was the one the refs knew by his first name. Despite the extreme sadness we all feel now that he has left this life, we will always remember how much he meant to us."

Nantucket Police Sgt. John Rockett started out as a rookie cop with Mabardy in the late 2000s, and the bond they forged during that time kept them close even after Mabardy left the island. He described the difficult decision Mabardy faced in leaving Nantucket - a place he had grown to love and appreciate - when the opportunity came to work in his hometown.

"Mike became very much like a big brother in many ways to me," Rockett said. "We not only worked together but also lived together and spent a lot of time with each other. Mike was a true friend. Mike loved Nantucket and was very much torn when faced with the decision to leave our Nantucket community. Coming from a great Natick family, Mike made the decision to return to his hometown and raise a family of his own but always stayed very much informed on what was going on in Nantucket. I admired and looked up to Mike in many ways but none more than the devoted and loving father he was to his daughters. He positively impacted many and will be sorely missed."

Another former colleague with the Nantucket Police Department, Steve Tornovish, also shared just how much Mabardy had meant to him during their time on the force together.

"Smart, tough, funny, compassionate, dedicated, a cop's cop," Tornovish said. "Mike was so much more than a cop, however. A great father, an amazing friend. May God bless you, Mike, and may He please comfort all of us who knew and loved this great man."

Lawrence Feloney grew up with Mabardy in Natick, where Mabardy's family has deep roots. Mabardy's grandfather owned an 80-acre farm, while his uncle served as the police chief and a selectman. The family owned a service station in the downtown area, and Mabardy's father was "the unofficial mayor of the town," Feloney said.

"I think that's where he got his work ethic from, and they became engrained in the community through the family business," said Feloney, now a coach with the NHL's Nashville Predators. "He grew up looking up to his uncle and his dad. That's where he got his desire to serve."

Feloney said on the night of his death, Mabardy was playing hockey with close friends - some he had known for decades. When he collapsed, there were people on the ice from the other team who were physicians, and they did all they could to save his life but were unable to revive him.

"Everyone is shocked by it," Feloney said. "The last time I saw Mike was in Nashville for my wedding, and I could see how truly happy he was with his girls."

Services for Mabardy will be held this Sunday and Monday, starting with a wake at Everett's Funeral Home from 3 p.m. to 7 p.m on Sunday, followed by a Mass at St. Patrick's church in Natick at 10 a.m. on Monday.

Greg Hill, a sports radio host with WEEI in Boston, has set up a fundraising page for Mabardy's family and is matching all donations up to $5,000 through the Greg Hill Foundation.