For the past several years, Blackhorse Ranch residents have witnessed the curious figure of an imposing Houston Police Department Lieutenant, mincing his steps on the sidewalk behind a teeny tiny yorkie poo. While Joe Deluke may have gotten the upper hand on the criminal element in Houston, Daisy, the petite SPCA rescue, has this retired cop and her HPD Lieutenant “mom” Tammy, wrapped around her little…uh, paw!
Joe was born and raised in Houston, while Tammy was born into a military family in Nashua, New Hampshire. As a young girl, her father’s tours of duty took the family to Germany and Virginia. At the age of 7, Tammy’s family moved to Houston.
“Joe was always drawn to the law enforcement profession. He received a Master’s Degree in Criminology from the University of Houston – Clear Lake. When he turned 19, (the minimum age requirement at the time), he joined the police department. Joe chose HPD because it was the largest department in the area,” explains Tammy.
Tammy took a more circuitous route to law enforcement, opting to first take a position in the mortgage industry. After being in the corporate world for a while, Tammy decided to become a police officer. She wanted to do something more than sit behind a desk; she wanted to help people. An off-duty police officer working with her at Costco, suggested that she look into law enforcement with the Houston Police Department. This was exactly what she wanted. As Joe had done, Tammy was awarded a Master’s Degree in Criminology at U of H – Clear Lake.
For Tammy and Joe, love bloomed at work. “I was Tammy’s lieutenant, and Tammy was injured in a car crash at work. She had to work at the station doing administrative work while she healed, and we started talking. Soon after that, we started dating, and Tammy transferred to another station so we could continue dating,” relates Joe.
One of Tammy’s greatest memories on the job was a call about a family disturbance. “I arrived at the apartment and the wife was screaming for help. On the third floor, the husband was pushing her off the balcony while holding a knife to her stomach. I went into the apartment and was able to get the wife and husband off the balcony. I truly felt I saved a life that day, and made a difference in the woman’s life.”
The couple was married on July 28, 2005, in a unique ceremony in Anchorage, Alaska. “In Alaska, they don’t have a Justice of the Peace, so they appoint people to perform marriage ceremonies,” explains Tammy. “My mom was living in Anchorage at the time. She was appointed to marry people for 24 hours, and actually performed the ceremony.”
There are three Deluke adult children; Alyssa is 40 and has one son, Jackson, who is 6, and middle daughter Lorena, is 22. Crystina, 19, is a sophomore premed student at Baylor University. Once the house was empty of children, Tammy and Joe had a spot to fill in their lives.
“We used to have a Bassett Hound named John Henry. When he passed away, it took us about two years to be ready to have another dog. We wanted to rescue a dog, so we went to the SPCA numerous times until we found the perfect dog. The SPCA had just gotten Daisy, a 5 pound yorkie poo, that had been rescued from a puppy mill. She was attracting a lot of attention, so I stood guard in my uniform, next to her crate, until Joe returned with the paperwork! She was about a year and a half old when we rescued her, and she is about 10 years old now. She is a feisty little dog who is somehow able to control all other dogs who come into her realm!” explains Tammy fondly. “When we adopted her, she had never walked in grass, and was afraid of the ball that I rolled to her,” comments Joe.
The couple moved to Black-horse Ranch in 2014 when their daughter Crystina was a sophomore in high school. “We were impressed with Cy Ranch High School, and we fell in love with the area. We like to say that we bought the house for the backyard,” smiles Tammy, surveying the immaculately manicured lawn, landscape, pool, and outdoor kitchen. “Everyone is so friendly in the neighborhood. People drive by and wave, and it’s great knowing our neighbors.”
In their many years with the Houston Police Department, the couple has seen a number of changes in police work. “Most of the changes in police work have been technology driven: computer usage, body cameras, cell phone cameras and surveillance cameras.”
“Joe’s greatest memories are working at the airport and meeting people from all over the country and world. He was able to show others how police in Houston treat people with respect,” explains Tammy. After 40 years of service as a Houston Police Officer, Joe retired on March 25, 2017, and is loving every minute of retirement. Tammy has been a Houston Police Officer for 15 years. She currently heads up the evening shift patrol at Westside, which is one of the largest shifts in the department. The Lieutenant plans to serve five more years before she retires.
Joe and Tammy cherish time spent with family, and with each other. “We love to travel, and have taken many cruises. We enjoy taking trips on Joe’s motorcycle. When we travel, we can spend time focused on each other.” It goes without saying that a spunky little yorkie poo will most likely be wedged in between the two of them.
CAPTIONS
Tammy Deluke receiving her Lieutenant’s Badge from husband, Lieutenant Joe Deluke, as daughter Crystina looks on approvingly.
Loren and Crystina
Tammy’s promotion to Sergeant
great articles!