By LYNSI BURTON

Staff Writer

For the Bossoms of Keyport, trips to the Golden Rule Body Piercing-Tattoo in Silverdale are a family affair.

And they are all for a cause.

This week, Golden Rule is offering $40 tattoos as a fundraiser to support the families of the Lakewood police officers killed at the end of November. The benefit started on Tuesday and runs until Sunday, with all proceeds going to the police fund.

Laura Bossom, an English teacher at Bremerton High School, got a tattoo of wings on her upper back Wednesday night, and got two tattoos on her right forearm on Tuesday — one of a book and one of a graduation cap. Her husband Ken, a corporal with the police department at the Puget Sound Naval Shipyard, got a police badge tattoo on Tuesday, bearing the letters “R.I.P.” and complete with wings. And their 18-year-old son Chris came in on Thursday for his first tattoo.

“We’re movin’ in!” Laura Bossom joked.

Ken Bossom said if a person is going to get a tattoo, might as well help somebody in the process.

“We’ve lost a lot of officers in the past months,” said Ken Bossom, who will return for an additional tattoo on Friday. “This is the best way I can think of remembering and supporting them.”

It was tattoo artist ErinAshleigh Wehmeyer’s idea to start the Golden Rule fundraiser for the Lakewood officers’ families. In an area with so many U.S. Navy personnel and Marines, Wehmeyer said it is important to show support for those who protect the community.

“I just felt so horrible about what happened,” she said.

Chris Bossom, a senior at Bremerton High School, came to get a tattoo similar to his father’s new one — a badge with a black ribbon on his bicep. His parents and his younger sister, Shannon, an 11-year-old sixth grader at Poulsbo Middle School, were all there to support him, watching a bit nervously and talking him through the process. Chris Bossom was a little nervous, but “when it’s done, it’ll be really cool,” he said.

Shannon, who admitted she is too young for tattoos, watched her brother eagerly.

“Are you crying?” she asked him. “Does it burn?”

Someday she wants a tattoo of a raccoon, she said, adding she would also fancy a skull with bows.

Wehmeyer, who worked on Chris’ tattoo, said she inked about 15 tattoos in the past three days for the fundraiser. She was booked with appointments until 9 p.m. on Thursday, but said she would be working until midnight for those who would come later.

“I’d like to personally do 50 by the end of the fundraiser,” she said.

David Feador, a Marine officer, looked through tattoo sketches with his wife, Selena, a Silverdale native, saying he wanted “something patriotic.”

“It’s kinda tragic,” he said, reflecting on the recent police officer deaths and its affect on the law enforcement community. “It definitely needs support.”

Meanwhile, Mel Thill of Seabeck awaited his turn at getting tattooed for the cause. He planned to get an eagle and “USA” printed on his forearm.

“It’s good to do whatever you can,” he said.

Chris winced occasionally during the 90 minutes it took for his tattoo to take shape, but survived the needles and his family’s teasing.

“It doesn’t hurt as much as dad said it would,” he said.