As life has it, many of us set goals and make “bucket lists,” full of things we want to accomplish, see and do before this short life ends. Twenty-one-year-old Taylor Thyfault did the same.
While still in high school, Taylor made a list of goals he wanted to achieve, and he got to work doing them all with the support and love of his best friend and closest confidant—his mom, Carole Adler.
Carole Continues to Text Her Son, Taylor Thyfault, After His Death
The two were extremely close, and Carole watched proudly as her son joined the Army, then set out to become a Colorado State Patrol officer. She admits his dreams always scared her, but she knew if anyone could achieve them, Taylor could.
Remembering Taylor Thyfault
On May 23, 2015, Taylor was in his final stages of cadet training with the Colorado State Patrol. He was on assignment with Trooper Clinton Rushing, investigating a crash on a Colorado highway, when they were warned of a high-speed police chase headed their way.
Though they deployed stop sticks to divert the suspect, the driver missed them, and plowed through the investigation scene, hitting both men. Trooper Rushing was critically injured, and Taylor Thyfault died on scene. But not before the selfless 21-year-old warned a tow-truck driver at the scene of the original accident to get out of the way—a warning that saved the man’s life.
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Carole lost her best friend and son that day, but she considers Taylor a hero.
Carole Adler
“And if you asked him, he’d do it again, because he sacrificed himself, for someone else,” she said. “He lived, he dreamed and breathed that.”
Carole says she knows that she was the last person her son texted on that fateful day. The two were extremely close, and not only did they talk regularly throughout the day, they did a lot of life together—workouts, coffee on Friday mornings, things that best friends do.
“Every day, it hits me like a ton of bricks, when I can’t text him,” Carole said. “We’re just that close. Everything that happened in his life was in my life.”
After Taylor passed away, Carole continued sending him text messages. Some were short and said things like, “I love you,” and, “I miss you.” Of course, it was always just a one-way conversation, but it helped her feel close to her son.
Until one day when “Taylor” texted her back.
Sergeant Kell Hulsey had gotten a new phone and number that summer. The digits just happened to be those of Taylor Thyfault, and Sergeant Hulsey just happened to work for the Greeley Police Department in Colorado.
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He frequently got Carole’s random messages, but initially ignored them, believing them to be the wrong number.
Then late one night, he received a much more heartfelt message, and decided to finally respond.
“I sent a text back and identified myself, and said, ‘I’m with the Greeley Police Department, and I don’t think your texts are going where you think they are,'” he texted.
Within seconds, Carole introduced herself and explained who she was—Taylor Thyfault’s mom.
“It was like the breath got sucked out of me,” said Sgt. Husley.
The officer offered to get a new number, but Carole requested that he keep it. She told him that he was doing the job Taylor had always dreamed of doing, and it brought her comfort to see the circumstances come full-circle.
After talking with Carole, the Greeley Police Sergeant felt an instant connection to Taylor—his brother in blue. He reflected on his 33 years in the force, and the passion and drive he knows Taylor had for his duty.
“He’s eager. He’s excited, and he’s willing to do a job that can sometimes be really unthankful,” Sgt. Husley said.
This shared connection has brought new meaning to the job for Hulsey, who now has one more mate looking out for him.
Carole Adler
As for that list of goals that Taylor made years before his life was taken too soon, there’s no doubt that he accomplished more of his dreams than some people do in an entire lifetime. And for those he wasn’t able to do on his own, his spirit lives on in the people he loved. He is missed, but never forgotten.
