Blair resident Mark Sundermeier passed away on Saturday, Oct. 22 due to a scuba diving accident near Lanai island in Hawaii.

According to the Maui Police Department, the 62-year old was participating in a dive site tour near the “Knob Hill” dive site. When a roll call was conducted onboard, tour staff discovered that Sundermeier was absent from the group.

He was found unresponsive in the water several minutes later, and CPR was unsuccessful. After being rushed to the Manele Boat Harbor, Sundermeier was pronounced dead at the scene by medics.

Sundermeier had worked as a part-time officer with the Bennington Police Department since 2009 following his retirement as a deputy chief with the Omaha Police Department.

Described as a “very caring, soft spoken” individual by BPD Chief of Police Andrew Hilscher, Sundermeier made his love for the community and those in it apparent every day through his work and attitude.

An investigation by the MPD is still ongoing, and the official cause of death is still unclear.

#2-Published in the Pilot-Tribune Novmeber 1, 2022

Following his tragic passing in a scuba diving accident in Hawaii on Oct. 22, an outpouring of love and remembrance for Blair resident Mark Sundermeier was shown from the numerous communities he played a role in.

Serving as a member of the Omaha Police Department from 1983 until his retirement in 2009, with time spent working for the Douglas Sheriff's Office as a reserve deputy mixed in, then becoming a part-time police officer in the Bennington Police Department for the following 13 years, Sundermeier’s impact and legacy will be felt for years to come.

"He was a devout family man and person who took his career seriously,” OPD Chief of Police Todd Schmaderer said. “He wanted to make a difference in society and that drove his ambitions as a command officer. He had a gentle demeanor but was firm when he needed to be."

In the same recruit class as Thomas Warren, former OPD Chief of Police and current Chief of Staff for Omaha Mayor Jean Stothert, the pair attended the Omaha police academy together nearly 40 years ago.

At a time when the field of law enforcement was changing and becoming more professional, more college-educated and career-oriented officers were being recruited. Sundermeier graduated with a BA in English from Creighton University, and brought a different perspective than those with a law enforcement background.

“I recall during that era, we were starting to take much more of a strategic approach to law enforcement,” Warren said. “It had been somewhat reactionary in the past, and so Mark was rather strategic in his thinking. We were implementing a number of proactive police strategies, and Mark was involved in the implementation of many of those efforts.”

When a bike patrol was implemented, Sundermeier was one of the initial supervisors of the patrol, in addition to actually patrolling by bike himself from time to time. He was also assigned to a selective patrol unit that worked with the residents of the Omaha Housing Authority as part of a community policing effort. Warren believes that he did a good job of working cooperatively with stakeholders and residents, and was innovative and well-respected for his work.

“He had relationships throughout the law enforcement community in the entire metropolitan area,” Warren said. “He certainly left a legacy. I think if you talk to anyone within those organizations, they will speak very fondly of Mark and the impression he made, as well as the contributions he made to those respective organizations.”

Despite making a name for himself in the field of law enforcement, Sundermeier was involved in much more. Becoming an adjunct professor in the criminal justice department at the University of Nebraska-Omaha, serving with the public safety department at Metropolitan Community College, and co-owning a passion project in the Omaha Wood Company, there were many layers to Sundermeier’s commitment.

Joe Jeanette, Director of Criminal Justice Executive Leadership and Professional Development at the University of Nebraska-Omaha, had a relationship with Sundermeier that far precedes their time spent at the college together.

First meeting when Jeanette was with the Bellevue Police Department back in the 80s, the two got closer as the years went by and Sundermeier moved up to the ranks, eventually becoming deputy chief for the OPD in 2006.

“Everybody says this, and it sounds so cliche, but he really was one of the most thoughtful, nicest, and intelligent guys,” Jeanette said. “For me, he was a go-to guy. That’s the guy at the Omaha Police Department who would help get things done.”

Described as someone who excelled at communication and problem solving, Sundermeier was a calming force within the department.

And his good natured helpfulness went beyond the law enforcement arena.

Jeanette’s own son is also a police officer who does woodworking on the side. He’d go to Sundermeier for advice or to purchase wood. Jeanette’s daughter-in-law had an incident with stalking that turned into a civil case, and Sundermeier cared deeply about the effect that had on the family.

“The community is losing a guy who set the stage for a lot of different community things for the OPD,” Jeanette said. “In the years in the 90s where they weren’t doing community policing, it was Mark who pushed them more towards problem solving and working with the community and different associations. He was the kind of guy who just set the wheels in motion to be where they’re at today.”

Often tasked as a speaker, Sundermeier’s communication skills worked with more than just coworkers and everyday citizens. Jeanette noted Sundermeier’s knack for going into interviews with burglars, robbers, and even murderers and getting them to talk about how they got to that point and how they chose their victim.

After the Von Maur shooting, Sundermeier and Jeanette collaborated to bring in Lt. Col. Dave Grossman to help deal with the fallout of the first responders and to help answer questions about the situation. Working to get different law enforcement and emergency personnel the help they needed after the impact of dealing with traumatic events like the shooting, Sundermeier again showed his care for those he worked with.

Because of that commitment to the betterment of himself and those around him, and his willingness to lend a helping hand, Sundermeier’s absence will be felt for some time in the overall Omaha metropolitan area.

But his accomplishments and meaningful contributions as a friend and officer will be remembered fondly for quite some time, as well.

“I had a very good relationship with Mark,” Warren said. “I considered him a peer, a colleague, and a friend. When you have someone who you grew up with throughout the Omaha police department, he’ll be sorely missed and we certainly convey our thoughts, prayers, and condolences to his family.”

Jeanette shared a similar sentiment.

“He was a guy who always had time for you,” Jeanette said. “If you had a situation, he’d be there to help. You call him up and say: ‘hey, I need to access this data’ or ‘hey, we need to move in this direction’. He was just that guy who’d do it for you.”

~~~ obituary courtesy of the Nebraska Washington County Genealogical Society. Newspaper clippings on file in the Public Library, Blair, Nebraska ~~~ FindaGrave #:245273833