Note: Funeral services for Officer Conrad Gary can be watched live above beginning around 9 a.m.
Family, friends, and dignitaries gathered to say an emotional goodbye Friday to a Chicago police officer who was fatally struck by a train this week.
Officer Conrad Gary was honored at a service Friday at the St. Rita of Cascia Shrine Chapel, with his fellow officers, his family, and elected officials like Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel and Illinois Governor Bruce Rauner in attendance.
“We all hope and pray that the hole can be filled with the loving memories of your time with Conrad,” Governor Rauner said in his eulogy. “We in Illinois can never fill that hole, but what we can all do is remember Conrad’s life and his service to the people of Chicago and the people of the state of Illinois. Conrad is a true American patriot, a true American hero.”
At the funeral service, mourners gathered to pay respects to a man who was described as a selfless hero who was quick to offer aid to others in times of crisis.
“Who among us, at this moment of anguish, can help but be inspired by a man who lived his life in service to others and high ideals?” Mayor Emanuel said. “For generations to come, the name Conrad Gary will be synonymous with heroism in the city of Chicago.”
Local
Gary was with his partner Officer Eduardo Marmolejo on Monday night as the duo responded to a call of shots fired near the Metra tracks at East 103rd Street in the city’s Rosemoor neighborhood. The officers were on the tracks when they were struck by a passing passenger train, and both were pronounced dead at the scene.
He leaves behind a wife and an infant daughter.
A GoFundMe page to help his family has raised nearly $57,000 since it was started on Tuesday.
Officer Marmolejo will be honored with a wake service on Friday, and his funeral will be held on Saturday morning.
