Celebrating the life of Chuck Salvas

Saturday the community gathered at Emmanuel Wesleyan Church in Salisbury, Md. to honor the life of Chuck Salvas. Salvas was a Maryland State Trooper, a Somerset County Sheriff, and most importantly a friend, a husband. an uncle and a father to his family that he loved so dearly.

“He made strict rules, but when you followed them you understood why later on,” said his 21-year-oold daughter Kimber Salvas. “He was a great father to have and he’s going to be truly missed.”

Salvas was diagnosed with brain cancer in 2012 and the family said doctors only gave him 14 months to live. Salvas, however had plans of sticking around much longer, beating those odds by over three years. According to Kimber, Salvas wasn’t ready to go and wanted more time with his family, even if that meant battling cancer to do so.

“He was always saying the doctors gave me six months, I don’t care what the doctors have to say. So it was awesome to see his fight,” Kimber said. “(It) gave us hope that we needed to stand there and fight with him.”

When Salvas was first diagnosed his family started the Salvas Strong Facebook pagem making his battle with cancer public. Although the Facebook page got plenty of likes, people showed up in person to show their support Saturday.

“I never would have thought he had this kind of impact. People from years ago came out, so it was just unbelievable,” Kimber said.

Overall the family said they were touched by the support both the community and law enforcement showed.

“He always wanted to leave a legacy and after today I think he did that,” said Salvas’ wife, Julie Salvas.

The family says anyone that wants to reach out to them can do so by contacting the Somerset Sheriff’s Office.