Scenes from the Medders procession
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At Elyria City Hall, a hushed crowd stood at attention as the procession passed.
Vicki Behne fought back tears as she remembered the intelligent boy-turned-Army captain who went to day care with her daughter, Lindsey.
“He was a wonderful kid with a great sense of humor,” Behne said.
“Michael will be honored and remembered forever,” said Behne. She and her husband, Elyria police Sgt. Michael Behne, are friends with Lynn and Police Chief Michael Medders.
It is the second time her children are grieving the loss of friends in the war because they also knew Sgt. Norman Lane Tollett, 30, of Elyria, who was killed on April 28, 2007.
“What you want these families to know is you love them and think about them and just want to hold them,” Behne said.
• • •
Outside the county Justice Center, friends of the Medders’ family extended their thoughts to the family.
“It’s almost inexpressible how sad it is,” said Assistant County Prosecutor Scott Serazin.
“I’ve known Mike since he started at the police department, and it’s so hard to even fathom what the family’s going through,” Serazin said. “There isn’t anything sadder than having to bury your child.”
City Auditor Ted Pileski said he also was thinking of the chief and his wife.
“I’m sure it’s the most difficult thing they’re ever going to face, and my thoughts and prayers are with them,” Pileski said. “God bless (Capt. Medders) and the other soldiers who have laid down their lives for us.”
• • •
In Avon Lake, Lana Deeb, whose daughter Bonnie graduated with Medders in 2001, placed a teddy bear next to the City Hall sign thanking Medders for his sacrifice.
She said, as a mother, she could only imagine what Lynn Medders is going through, and thought of the teddy bear as a sign of comfort.
“As moms you feel a natural connection to their sorrow,” Deeb said.
• • •
The more than 80-vehicle motorcade featured more than a dozen local emergency response cruisers and vehicles from local departments.
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