Thousands Attend Funeral Of Corrections Officer Killed At Stillwater Prison
ARDEN HILLS, Minn. (WCCO) -- Hundreds of first responders and members of the community paid their respects Thursday to Joseph Gomm, the corrections officer killed last week in the line of duty.
The 45-year-old had worked at the prison in Stillwater for 16 years until an inmate attacked him with a hammer on July 18.
On Thursday morning, Northern Heights Lutheran Church in Arden Hills was filled with men and women in uniform. All of them were there to celebrate the life of one of their own.
"I can assure you from the very bottom of my heart that Joe will never be forgotten," said Reverend Martin Shanahan.
Watch the funeral:
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Friends described Gomm as authentic and compassionate, a man who enjoyed cooking and playing video games. The eulogy was given by co-workers who knew him best.
"When people ask how I met Joe, I like to say, I met Joe back in 2002 in prison," Tom Chronakos said.
He called Gomm a dear friend, and a man who loved to play pranks to keep things light during dark times.
"He filled my locker full of packing peas. I opened up my locker and it avalanched out on top of me," Chronakos said.
Gomm was also an animal lover. And Reverend Shanahan told the story of how Gomm saved a kestrel at the correctional facility and brought it to the Raptor Center.
The kestrel healed, and on Wednesday it was released outside the prison.
"He did this graceful curve and he landed on the light post over the top of Gate 6……as if to tell all of us, I am free," Shanahan said.
Thursday's ceremony was a celebration of a life taken too soon.
Friends and family are now leaning on each other, as they heal together.
"In their hurt and suffering, they reached out," said friend Shawn Yurick. "They were willing the good. They were loving on us."
Ahead of the funeral, Gov. Mark Dayton ordered flags to fly at half-staff Thursday in Gomm's honor.
For donations:
Joseph Gomm Memorial Fund
C/O BMO Harris Bank
1520 109th Ave. NE
Blaine, MN 55449
