ESCONDIDO -- Retired Carlsbad Police Officer Robert "Bob" Wick may have been honored as the San Diego County Law Enforcement Officer of the Year in 1997, but he always wanted something more.

Seven years later, Wick retired as a sergeant and saw his dream of starting his own business become a reality. Wick, 44, died Wednesday, June 27, 2007, of melanoma cancer, leaving behind his new business, his wife of four years, two children and a life full of accomplishments.

His 22-year-old daughter, Megan Wick of Charleston, S.C., recalled Friday the excitement her father and their family felt when he was honored as the county's top cop. Wick worked 21 years in law enforcement and was a Carlsbad police investigator who often worked with the federal Drug Enforcement Agency on special operations, she said.

"He was really proud," his daughter said. "There's a lot of competition for that award. It gained him a lot of notoriety around the police department."

Linda Ledesma, who worked with Wick at the Carlsbad Police Department for about 15 years, said Wick worked undercover and helped the DEA with some of the largest drug busts in the nation.

She said Wick was "the epitome of the greatest undercover detective," describing him as "brilliant," "astute" and "perceptive."

"He loved police work, he loved law enforcement," Ledesma said. "It was his life."

But he was just as proud of the company he started, Crime Scene Technologies, which runs a DNA forensics lab for the justice system, his daughter said.

"It was a dream of his to start a forensics company," she said. "He was kind of disappointed to see the turnaround (time) on the forensic work at crime scenes."

Wick, who was born in Oceanside and grew up in Vista, was an athletic man known for his sense of humor and leadership. While working as a police officer, he also earned his bachelor's degree in criminal justice and a master's in public administration from National University.

He volunteered for charities, coached his 15-year-old son Chase's Pop Warner football team, and loved his family and his friends, and family said.

"His kids were his priority," Ledesma said. "He would work his schedule so he could be there to take his daughter to cheerleading and be at her games."

He married his wife, Stephanie, four years ago. Although their time was cut short, they made the most of it and traveled the world, family and friends said.

"I think they were able to pack into those four years more than some people do in their entire lifetime," Ledesma said.

Contact staff writer Paul Eakins at (760) 740-5420 or peakins@nctimes.com.