Page 10 - Desert Oracle December 2020

Sean Stoddard

How does one describe a man who is the epitome of exceptional? Determined would provide for a small
descriptive part; resilient gives way to still only a narrow understanding of his mindset; brave then yields
another portion; kindness gets lost in a wave of eloquent words just as he would get lost in service to
others; generous downplays the capacity of his heart’s desires to give, and even the word hero seems
small in meaning. All words said, and still they do not display enough to truly describe the character of
one so exceptional.

It is often said that once someone comes to know what he does (or did) in life, they still only know very
little; for he is constantly thinking of and executing ways to help others. Rarely would or could his efforts
be recognized because it would be hard to track the countless services he has done outside of the public
eye. When asked in time to think about himself, he could not solely do so, for filling his own bucket is
only achieved by filling the buckets of others. In fact, most of his greatest sorrows have come only when
his intentions to give joy to another weren’t fulfilled. Thus we see the difficulty in describing accurately
the exceptional heart and mind of Sean Stoddard.

From an early age, Sean has been determined to help others and be his best self. He would often make
others laugh in his classes and he played that awesome solo on his trumpet in jr. high. In high school, he
enjoyed participating in track, band, year book, drama or wrestling. When serving in his community
through the BSA scouting program and church, he received his Duty to God and Eagle Scout. Those close
to Sean saw him at his happiest when he was bringing joy to others. He enjoys being involved and
seemed to always be at the center of the projects his group of friends would do.

From his job as a waiter to working as a physiotherapist in his grandfather’s chiropractic office and even
becoming a plumber for a few years, Sean has always shown a tireless work ethic, driven to exceed the
standard. Those he served for and with loved him. His bosses would often trust him with greater
responsibilities, being eager to place him in charge of bigger tasks. That trust was earned time and again
and also set the stage for the many leadership responsibilities and opportunities he would receive later
in life in both the military and police department. His hard work ethic and determined sense of purpose
allowed him to move up the chain of command and never be turned down for rank.
Sean can do anything he has a desire to do. Combined with an insatiable desire to make others happy,
Sean lives a life of constant growth through learning new things, or sometimes re-learning things. One
day, upon finding out that a fellow brother in arms who had passed away would not be getting taps
played at his graveside, Sean chose to dust off his trumpet and re-learn to play. Such a talent has lead
him to honor many others in the armed forces at their funerals, including both of his grandfathers who
had served in the military. On a recent Memorial Day in the morning, Sean took time while on break, in
his police uniform, to go to the Mesa Cemetery and play taps to honor the fallen in spite of the fact that
no one was there to listen. His playing set the tone of respect and honor those veterans deserved, given
also that, due to covid, flags would not be placed on their graves as was customary in previous years.

His desire for knowledge and growth is infectious, often encouraging those around him to learn and do
more. Two of his friends, who had never considered it previously, were encouraged to join the military
with Sean. A few other friends, when seeing Sean as a police officer, chose to apply as well. Sean earned
a Bachelor’s of Science in Criminal Justice and Criminology from Arizona State University (Summa Cum
Laude) and completed a Master of Arts in Organizational Leadership from Brandman University.