A retired Santa Maria police corporal, who was active in the war against narcotics, died Thanksgiving Day after a 13-year battle with a debilitating disease.

Nipomo resident Mark Louis Riddering, who worked for the department from 1989 to 1998, died Thursday from complications of Lou Gehrig’s disease, the police department announced Friday.

Riddering, 53, had battled the disease officially known as amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), a fatal degenerative disease that attacks nerve cells and pathways in the brain and spinal cord, according to the ALS Association.

He was diagnosed in 1995; symptoms forced him into medical retirement three years later.

Lt. Mike Cordero recalled Riddering as a hard working and committed officer.

“Beyond just being a great police officer, he was an incredible individual,” Cordero said.

While working for the department, Riddering was one of the agency’s first two DARE (Drug Abuse Resistance Education) officers, served as an instructor for the department’s drug training programs, became an established court expert in drug investigations and did a stint with the narcotics unit, the police department said.

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“He was a driving force behind the DARE program coming to Santa Maria when it did,” Cordero said. “It’s still here today. He was just a real committed person to drug enforcement and bettering the community. He was just a really great guy.”

In other assignments while part of the force, Riddering worked as a homicide investigator, and was an original beat coordinator in the Community Services Unit.

Relinquishing his badge wasn’t simple.

“I still dream about it,” Riddering said in 2004 about his work as a uniformed police officer.

Even after his retirement, Riddering remained involved in the department as much as possible, Cordero said.

“There was never anything wrong with this guy’s mind; it was just his body,” Cordero said, calling Riddering “a medical marvel” for his lengthy battle against the disease.

The average life expectancy for a Lou Gehrig’s disease patient is two to five years, according to the ALS Association. Up to 10 percent survive more than 10 years, the group said.

Riddering’s colleagues banded together to help him, including holding a 2004 dinner and auction benefit auction that raised $116,000.

The department also has established the Mark Riddering Award for the top narcotics officer. Additionally, a street in Santa Maria bears his name.

Riddering was born Jan 15, 1955, to Louis and Delores Riddering in Evergreen Park, Ill. As a young boy, he moved to Oxnard with his family. He graduated from Oxnard High School in 1973, where he excelled in swimming and water polo.

He began his law enforcement career in Port Hueneme, and went on to work for Ventura and Oxnard police departments.

While working as a police officer, he completed his bachelor’s degree in criminal justice through the University of La Verne.

He also belonged to Redeemer Presbyterian Church in Santa Maria.

Survivors include his wife of 33 years, Sue; his mother, Dee; four children and their spouses, Sara and Ben Brigham, Rebecca Riddering, Samantha and Kevin Brandon, and Luke and Christina Riddering; older brother Wayne; younger sister Lynn Mackereth and four grandchildren.

A funeral service will be held at 1 p.m. Tuesday at First Christian Church, 1550 S. College Drive, Santa Maria. Burial will follow at the Santa Maria Cemetery.

In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to the Mark Riddering fund at any branch of Rabobank, and the money will go to charities close to Riddering’s heart, his family said..

Arrangements are under the direction of Dudley-Hoffman Mortuary and Crematory.

November 29, 2008