The widow of a slain Cortez police officer will soon have an easier time facing the monthly mortgage payment on her home in Cortez thanks to about $40,000 that a police organization has raised for her.

Durango Police Sgt. Tony Archuleta, president of the Durango Fraternal Order of Police, said Monday that a telephone solicitation campaign the organization began in July has raised $39,545 for Sue Claxton, whose husband, Dale Claxton, was killed by three heavily-armed gunmen May 29 in Cortez.

The group plans to send a check for $40,000 to Sue Claxton’s mortgage company soon, Archuleta said.

Archuleta said the organization will end the phone solicitation on the one-year anniversary of Claxton’s murder. After May 29, the representatives will approach Fraternal Order of Police lodges across the state and eventually nationwide to try and raise the remaining $46,000 necessary to completely pay off Claxton’s $86,000 mortgage.

The Fraternal Order of Police decided to end the phone solicitation campaign because representatives have completed calling everyone listed in local phone books and because the number of donations have decreased in recent weeks, Archuleta said.

Despite the recent decrease in donations, Archuleta said he’s pleased with the amount of money the phone solicitation has raised.

"I think we’re pretty happy with what we’ve made so far," Archuleta said. "This is the first fund-raiser like this that we’ve ever done, so we weren’t really sure what would happen."

Archuleta said he hopes that an episode of "Unsolved Mysteries" will raise awareness of the brutality of Claxton’s shooting and will encourage more people to help Sue Claxton repay her mortgage.

The Claxtons were in the process of completing a major renovation of their home when Dale Claxton was killed. The renovation is now complete, Archuleta said.

Archuleta said that he, Colorado State Patrol Trooper J.L. Chilton, and Cortez police officer Vern Rucker will accompany Sue Claxton to Washington in May for Police Memorial Week, a national event to honor officers slain in the line of duty.