Specialist Gary Earl Dudley PS-247
(1949-2025)
Gary was born on July 16, 1949 at or near Tongue Point Naval Air Station to Seaman Jack Earl and Paula F. (Smith) Dudley. His father, after military service, moved his family to Cincinnati. Gary attended Western Hills High School and graduated in 1967.
Four months later, on October 29, 1967, Gary joined the Cincinnati Police Division as a Clerk and was assigned to Records Section. He took a military leave of absence to enlist in the United States Navy on January 9, 1969. He completed boot camp at the Great Lakes Naval Center and was immediately assigned there as a Clerk. Seven months later, he was assigned to the USS Arneb (LKA-56), an attack cargo ship based in Norfolk. He served as a legal yeoman and ship’s captain yeoman for two years and was aboard for two Mediterranean cruises. He was then assigned as a Clerk to the staff of the Commander in Chief, Pacific (CINCPAC) out of Honolulu for 15 months. Petty Officer Second Class Dudley was honorably discharged on December 7, 1972 with letters of commendation and a certificate of merit. He then entered the Inactive Naval Reserves.
The Police Division restored Gary from military leave and assigned him to the Personnel Section on February 11, 1973. On January 13, 1974, his sister, Pamela Manion, also joined the Division as a Clerk Stenographer II. On September 8, 1974, Gary was promoted to Police Recruit and assigned to the Division’s 60th Recruit Class. He was promoted to Police Officer on February 2, 1975, issued Badge 84, and assigned to District 4 (7017 Vine Street). A year later, he was rotated to District 5 (1012 Ludlow Avenue). Due to fiscal shortfalls at City Hall, he was laid off on December 5, 1976. Officer Dudley was recalled on September 18, 1977 and reassigned to District 5. On October 10, 1978, after an armed robbery in Clifton Hills, Officer Dudley and his partner checked some hotels on their beat and found two men left their room shortly before the robbery. They investigated and arrested two Texans for the robbery. In October 1979, the same two officers responded to a report of a fight and ended up in a scuffle with one of the participants who grabbed his partner’s firearm. Both wrestled him to the ground and arrested him without a shot being fired.
On February 21, 1982, he was promoted to Specialist and issued Badge PS-247. Again, due to City Hall funding issues, he was temporarily demoted to Police Officer on May 13, 1984. Regardless of political manipulations of his career and personal welfare, he always gave his all for the citizens of Cincinnati. He was repromoted on July 22, 1984. In February 1986, a task force was established to find and arrest a man for a serious of burglaries and sexual assaults. Specialist Dudley, on March 11th, staked out a likely neighborhood, caught the man, and charged him with Rape, three counts of Attempt Rape, four counts of Aggravated Burglary, and Felonious Assault of a Police Officer. On February 21, 1988 he was transferred to the Homicide Unit. Specialist Dudley’s performance evaluations typically commented on his thoroughness and willingness to complete tasks and take on more. Specialist Dudley retired on April 4, 1998 with 31 years of service to his country and community and 39 letters of appreciation and/or commendation, including eight from Cincinnati police chiefs, two from a Hamilton County Common Pleas judge, a University of Cincinnati assistant police chief, Lockland police chief, a Hamilton County chief bailiff, an assistant Hamilton County prosecutor, and Cincinnati mayor.
He continued his career as a Corporate Security Officer at The Cincinnati Financial Corporation in Fairfield.
Specialist Dudley, after a prolonged illness, died on July 29, 2025 at 4 p.m. at Hillebrand Nursing Home at the age of 76.
Specialist Dudley is survived by his sisters, Donna (Larry) Rueve, retired Cincinnati Police Administrative Specialist Pamela L. (Matt) Manion, Diane (Tim) Weber, Vicki (Ken) Jones, and his brother Jack (Kelly) Dudley.
A visitation will be held on Thursday, August 7, 2025, from 12:30 p.m. to 2 p.m. at Arlington Funeral Home at 2155 Compton Road in Springfield Township (follow the blue line upon entering the memorial garden). An FOP service will be held at 1:45 p.m. A funeral service will be held at 2 p.m. Burial will be held in the Garden of Good Shepherd immediately following.
Memorials may be made to the American Heart Association .
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