Gabriel “Tater” Singleton was made an honoary deputy. He is pictured above with his family and his partner Whitfield County Sheriff’s Office Deputy Shawn Giles. (Contributed photo)

A north Georgia boy who garnered national attention via social media and stole the hearts of local law enforcement officers is fondly remembered after a long fight against a rare form of cancer.

Gabriel “Tater” Singleton, 7, became a social media darling earlier this year while fulfilling his dream to meet his favorite action hero, Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson. He died on Saturday after an almost five-year battle with cancer.

Singleton was also made an honorary deputy and Whitfield County, Georgia Sheriff’s Office Deputy Shawn Giles was his partner. Singleton rode around with his sidekick on “patrols” and even made an arrest of a “suspect” as he donned a uniform and slapped the cuffs on the “criminal.”

Often, Singleton would go to the sheriff’s office to spend time with Giles and the other deputies. Giles said Singleton’s visits were inspirational and required a big attitude adjustment for the deputies, who are accustomed to dealing with criminal behavior and the rougher edges of society.

“It was an amazing experience to have such positive experiences with him as often as we could,” Giles said, his voice cracking a little as he reflected on losing his partner.

“He was always smiling and always so positive that you couldn’t help but be in a better mood,” he continued. “In a job that is generally thankless and so much negativity, he was a super bright ray of sunshine into all of our lives here at the sheriff’s office.”

Singleton was born on Aug. 11, 2008, and was diagnosed in September 2011 with Stage IV Neuroblastoma — a rare cancer that develops from immature nerve cells found in several areas of the body. He endured two stem cell surgeries, sessions of chemotherapy and 12 months of radiation treatment and antibiotics before eventually being found to be clear of the cancer. He was in remission for 17 months until September 2014 when cancer was found again.

There were numerous posts to the Singletons’ Facebook pages as well as the Tater’s Angels page after the family announced their son’s passing. Jesse Singleton said his family was overwhelmed by the support and condolences rolling in from around the Internet.

“It blows me away to be honest with you,” he said. “He has reached by far way more people than I could ever imagine. He was a symbol and a true Christian and, me as his father, I want to be more like him. He had a way with people and all it took was a smile and you were hooked by him.”

Jesse Singleton said his son died peacefully at home.

“We knew it was coming,” he said.

In the last months of his life, the family tried their best to make Gabriel’s dreams come true. Lulu Singleton works out at the same gym with Giles, and when he learned of her son’s dream to become a policeman, Giles worked to make it a reality.

It was during a bout with chemotherapy that caused Gabriel to lose his hair that his mother showed him pictures of another person without hair — “The Rock.”

During a treatment session in Tennessee in February, Gabriel made a sign telling Dwayne Johnson how much he would like to meet him and that “You inspire me with your positive attitude.” The family posted the photo to Facebook and “it took off from there,” Lulu Singleton said in an interview with The Dalton, Georgia Daily Citizen earlier this year. The post went viral, with thousands of people across the world sharing it.

Johnson responded to the postings and arranged to meet with Singleton and his family on the set of “Baywatch,” which was filming in Savannah, Georgia. Tater was presented with his own version of a movie poster with Singleton in the lead role by the For the Win Project, which specializes in posters placing children suffering from diseases and illness in the role of their favorite movie characters.

“He had his dreams and we tried our best to make his dreams come true,” Jesse Singleton said. “He was a true inspiration to me and his morn and he really taught us how to live life. It didn’t matter what he was going through, he always had a smile. He is a true inspiration. In almost eight years of life he taught us not to take life for granted.”

That was also a lesson he passed along to the members of the sheriff’s office who got to know their little brother on the force.

“I think about all of the battles we think we fight, and you look at this little guy and you think your problems aren’t nearly as bad as you think they are,” Maj. J.A. Gibson said. “He and his fight and struggle gives us a lot of motivation to continue to work hard. He will be greatly missed around here. … He had a great outlook on life on even the days when he wasn’t feeling his best.”

Gabriel’s father said it was on those days when his son was struggling that he enjoyed being at the sheriff’s office the most.  

“That was his biggest dream, to become a police officer,” Jesse Singleton said. “He went out with his partner and would go to the station several times and just hang out. He would go as often as he could. I came home one day and told him I was tired and he told me, ‘Daddy, I am tired because I spent all day at work, too.’ Me and his mom were blown away that the sheriff’s office took the time to do that.”

Giles said having Singleton as a partner will have a lasting impact on his life. And now, he said, he has a mantra to live by.

“His big words were ‘strong’ and ‘brave,’” Giles said. “To watch him go through and never once complain. Our little things in life that bother us, we should never complain. Be strong and be brave through all of our endeavors just as he was.”

Gabriel “Tater” Singleton will be buried Wednesday in Dalton, Georgia with full honors with the sheriff’s Honor Guard serving as pallbearers. Both Both Giles and Whitfield County Sheriff Scott Chitwood will speak during the service.

Whitfield writes for the Dalton, Georgia Daily Citizen.