Donald Aubrecht defined himself as a police officer.

"He didn't look at it like a job," said his eldest son, also named Donald. "He never minded putting in long hours and long days. It was his life."

Mr. Aubrecht, 82, died July 13 from complications after a fall. He was a life-long cop who was the City of Pittsburgh assistant chief of police at the time of his retirement in 1992.

"He would work, come home, eat, work around the house, and then he was back out on the job," said his son, himself a former chief of police in Homestead now heading the police department at Thiel College.

"Most of the guys who are bosses on this job now either worked on the job, or were promoted, or came up through the ranks with the Old Man," he added.

"I mean, the Old Man was a part of history for the city."

"I guess I knew him my entire time in the police; I looked at him as a mentor, and he was a very steadying influence on the police department," said Charles Moffatt, superintendant of Allegheny County police.

There were many law enforcement officers in the family, so it seemed only natural he should follow in their paths. But growing up in the North Side's Spring Hill section, Donald Aubrecht took a few detours.

His son said Mr. Aubrecht persuaded his parents to sign papers allowing him to leave high school early in order to join the Navy. He served during the Korean War and upon returning home, found a good job hauling steel for the Pittsburgh Gage & Supply Co.

After becoming a policeman, he took a brief hiatus, returning to Teamsters 249 and once again driving a truck.

"It was better money and benefits than being a cop, and our sister needed medical attention when she was born," said youngest son David Aubrecht. "After she was out of the woods, he went back [to the police force]."

Everyone in his neighborhood knew he was a guy to go to if there were a problem.

David Aubrecht also remembered one time, as a child, riding in his father's squad car.

"A man called him a 'pig,' and I said, 'Dad, why did that guy just call you a pig?' When you're little, you don't really think about stuff like that.

"My dad said, 'That just stands for pride, integrity and guts and that guy doesn't have any.' "

"He was a tough cop, a good cop, but he had a gentle side, too," Mr. Moffatt said. "He used to call my house when I was commander and he was assistant chief, and my daughter, who was a lot younger, would cringe.

" 'Let me speak to your dad,' he'd say in this big voice. One time we ran into him on the North Side and I introduced him to my daughter. After he left, she said, 'He's just like a teddy bear.'

"I told him this and he laughed like hell. He remembered this many years later when he met her again and said, 'Is this the one who called me a teddy bear?' "

"He enjoyed being a policeman," Donald Aubrecht said. "He said he would have worked until he was 75 if they would have let him. He liked working with the public. When he retired, that was not a happy day."

Mr. Aubrecht is survived by sons Donald and David; daughters Deborah Wolfgang, Denise Aubrecht and Terri King; seven grandchildren; and one great-grandchild.

The former assistant chief was also not big on ceremony, which is why his family will be having just one visitation, from 2 to 6 p.m. today at O'Brien's Funeral Home on California Avenue on the North Side.

A blessing service will follow.

First Published: July 16, 2012, 4:00 a.m.