When this 47-year-old man with Down Syndrome passed away, 30 local firefighters showed up to help give him a proper send-off. And this inspirational story of firefighters’ funeral tribute to their biggest fan is truly touching!
Ove has always been a bit obsessed with firefighters. To him, they were personal heroes. His most enjoyable moments were spent seeing a fire truck driving down the road.
“Ove was undoubtedly Denmark’s largest fire and [fire truck] fan, and his room was decorated with pictures and posters of firefighters and fire trucks, and he had a large collection of fire trucks standing on all shelves.” an online post shared.
credit: Elona Sjøgren
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The Assisted Living facility that Ove lived in knew he needed a special kind of memorial service. Zofiia Rose, a worker at the facility, posted on Facebook asking if there were six firefighters in the area who would be willing to come and participate in Ove’s funeral as pallbearers. In their mind, there was no other way to show true respect for a man who loved these first-responders so dearly.
credit: Elona Sjøgren
Inspirational Story Of Firefighters’ Funeral Tribute
On the day of the funeral, Rose got her wish. There were not just six firefighters but 30! They came from all over the local area.
"Ove got his goodbye... It came on the day 30 firefighters from the Copenhagen Airport Fire Brigade, the State's Preparedness, the Capital's Voluntary Preparedness, the fire brigade. And there were 7 emergency outside the church. Fire trucks in all sizes and ambulance."
Firefighters from all over Denmark and Greenland who could not be present wrote kind letter of condolences for Ove. At the funeral, fire trucks and firefighters lined the path from the church to the hearse to respect the man who loved their profession so much.
credit: Elona Sjøgren
In a follow up post from Zofiia Rose she shared how overwhelmed and touched Ove’s family and friends were by the outpouring of support.
"Thank you to each and every one of you. You've really made a difference to many people on Friday. And you've helped instill hope and faith in the good in the world again."
"And you have made a certain gentleman very happy, even though he is not here on earth anymore. I have no doubt that he followed, and cheered dearly."
h/t: BreakingCoffee
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