When recalling Audrey Wall Augustus, colleagues describe the veteran Capitol Police officer as a nurturer, counselor and educator who shared with them her many talents both in and out of the police department.

Augustus, 46, died March 1, following a prolonged battle with breast cancer.

She served in the department for more than two decades, joining the force in 1981.

Longtime friends and fellow officers T. LaMont Lewis and Beverly Davis, who spent 10 years working alongside Augustus in the department’s training division, estimate Augustus helped to prepare more than half of the officers currently on the force.

“She would spend time ensuring officers were prepared for the job at hand,” said Lewis, now a technician in the command center.

Augustus, who received a degree in early childhood education from Bennett College in Greensboro, N.C., naturally gravitated to the training department. “She was an educator,” Lewis said.

Augustus excelled in her post, colleagues said, in part thanks to her communications skills and gentle manner. “She always had a nice way of correcting people,” Davis said.

Love of education extended to Augustus’ private life, where her home was often filled with children. She also spoke of one day opening her own day-care center, Davis said.

“My own kids called her Auntie Audrey,” she noted.

Augustus also served as a wedding coordinator, and included among her accomplishments arranging services for both Davis and Lewis.

“She was a great team person,” said Davis, who now works in the department’s recruiting office. “She always saw herself as a behind-the-scenes coordinator.”

Augustus, born in Raleigh, N.C., and raised in the District of Columbia, also possessed a widespread sense of family, her colleagues said.

“She had the warmest, sincere personality that would bring you in,” Lewis said. “She was also a person that appreciated the small and the grand.”

He later added: “Many people became so close to her, that she referred to them as aunt or uncle.”

After being diagnosed with cancer in 2001 and undergoing treatment, Augustus briefly return to the force in 2002 on restricted duty.

During that time, fellow officers donated hundreds of hours of leave to Augustus and her husband, Kevin, also a Capitol Police officer, through a department program. The Fraternal Order of Police also raised funds for Augustus.

“It was a constant outpouring of help,” Davis said.

Augustus is survived by her husband; two daughters, Ashli Kai-Leen Jordan and Aysha Monaye Jordan; a son, Kevin Augustus Jr.; her parents, Richmond and Lydia Wall; and a brother and sister.

Funeral services were held last week at the Albright Memorial United Methodist Church.