Community members gather to salute the memory of fallen officer Brandy Winfield

Twenty years ago a Marion County Sheriff's Office deputy was killed in the line of duty.

Brandy Winfield died Oct. 14, 2004, when he was shot and killed after being dispatched to check on a disabled vehicle on state Route 423.

On Monday, a group of about 75 family members, friends and law enforcement colleagues gathered at Marion Cemetery for a memorial service.

Chaplain Dale Baker was impressed with the size of the crowd and was glad so many peopled showed up to honor Winfield.

Brian Lovell, a fellow deputy, read from 1 Corinthians. “Be on your guard; stand firm in the faith; be courageous; be strong. Do everything in love.”

All who spoke echoed their love for Winfield, and especially enjoyed his playful personality.

His widow, Sara, and his mother, Shirley, attended the memorial service, knowing his ultimate sacrifice exemplified Windfield’s love for his community.

Also present was deputy Landon Winfield, Brandy Winfield’s son, who has followed in his late father’s footsteps.

A luncheon followed at the Marion County Sheriff’s Office.

Tragic radio call in October 2004

The day Brandy Winfield died in 2004, his last radio message sent to the Sheriff's Office described a man walking along the road carrying a gas can. When officials did not hear from him for some time, they sent authorities from the Marion Police Department and the Sheriff's Office to look for him, according to a report in the Marion Star.

The responders found Winfield in his cruiser with a gunshot wound. The cruiser was upside down in a ditch on Route 423. Winfield was pronounced dead later that morning after being taken to Marion General Hospital.

Marion Police Department officers Jerome Hostetter and Edward J. Masterson, Marion County Sheriff's Office deputy William J. Bender and Ohio Highway Patrol trooper William "Randy" Bender are others from area law enforcement who lost their lives.

Hostetter, a patrolman for the MPD, was fatally shot and killed in 1910. Masterson, a police captain, was fatally injured in a traffic accident in 1922. Bender, a Sheriff's Office deputy, was fatally injured in a traffic accident in 1973. William “Randy” Bender, an OHP trooper, was fatally injured in a traffic accident in 1982. He was the son of the deputy who was killed in 1973.

This article originally appeared on Marion Star: Community members gather to salute the memory of fallen officer Brandy Winfield