Fallen Scottsdale Police Det. Ryan So set an example of service for his children, teacher says

PHOENIX - Scottsdale Police Det. Ryan So died Thursday, June 13, after a gun accidentally fired after falling from a bag, killing him. Days after, we're learning more about the man who touched many lives.

So leaves behind his wife and three little girls. Many remember the husband and father, who served his community while making his girls a priority.

"You'd see him at the bottom of the stairs dropping off his girls. It was really cute," Sandi Turek, a teacher at North Valley Christian Academy, said.

He's remembered as a family man – husband to his wife Ashley and father to Emerson, Stella, and Tatum.

Emerson’s 5th grade teacher, Turek, says his girls were his whole world.

"It was different because the dad is the one that really reached out. 'What does she need? What can I do? Tell us how can we get involved,’" Turek said.

From carpooling, to field trips and school performances, his busy schedule never got in the way of what mattered most to him – being a dad.

"He made it a point to come to stuff in the middle of the day, like, ‘What time is it? I have to be there,'" Turek said. "He made sure he was there."

So served in the U.S. Navy for 4 years and the Scottsdale Police Department for 9 years.

His heart for service was contagious. It's an example he set for his daughters.

"He always said, ‘What can I do to help?’ He was a mirror. They reflected on that, and they saw that as an example, and they wanted to be like their dad," Turek said.

The So family's church and school are rallying around them, remembering the father and husband.

"I always like to tell kiddos that when bad things happen, it's the strength in them and that God doesn't give us something we can't handle," Turek said.

A funeral service will be held for So on Thursday at Highlands Church in Scottsdale. Multiple scholarships and fundraisers have been set up for the So family.

The family is taking donations written out to Ashley So at Valley Life Church in Scottsdale. The 100 Club also has a scholarship in his name.