Derrick Fudge, a victim of theDayton mass shootingwhodied in his son’s arms, was laid to rest in Ohio on Saturday, one week after the tragedy that killed an additional eight people.
The funeral service for Fudge, 57, took place at St. John Missionary Baptist Church in Springfield, Ohio.
Mourners included Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine and Dayton Mayor Nan Whaley, as well as a crowd of people who didn’t know Fudge, but came in support of his many friends and family,WHIOreports.
His funeral program included a message from family members that read, “Your prayers, calls, visits, flowers, cards, food and other expressions of love have truly helped get us through this difficult time,” according to the local outlet.
Mourners at Derrick Fudge’s funeral.Jahi Chikwendiu/The Washington Post via Getty Images
Fudge was enjoying a night out with his son, Dion Green, and other family members in Dayton’s Oregon District when he was shot outside of a bar.
“I saw him breathe real light, like a fish when you take it out of the water,” Green, 37, told PEOPLE of his dad. “He just looked at me, and I looked at him, in my arms. I told him I love him. Man, he was a great father. Everybody who knows him, they can’t say anything bad about him.”
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Fudge’s sister, Twyla Southall, told PEOPLE her brother loved cooking and painting, and was excited to paint the bedroom of his granddaughter, Green’s daughter Niara.
“He was a good guy. He loved his family. And he was happy and content with what he had and where he was, and just enjoying his life,” she said.
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Green, Fudge’s only child, said he enjoyed fishing, playing cards and barbecuing with his dad.
Victims Beatrice N. Warren-Curtis, 36, Nicholas Cumer, 25, Logan Turner, 30, Saeed Saleh, 38, and Monica Brickhouse, 39, were all laid to rest on Saturday in funerals taking place in West Virginia, Pennsylvania and Ohio, according to their obituaries.
source: people.com
