Feature Article October 2, 2003
LAND O' LAKES NewsWeb HomeThousands Mourn Sr. Const.John FLagg
John always showed tremendous courage, but he is my hero not for how he died but how he lived, said longtime friend Det. Sgt. John Corcoran, as he gave a eulogy of the OPP officer who died Sept. 20 when his OPP motorcycle collided with a pickup truck during a high-speed chase. The 55-year-old OPP veteran, who was just three years from retirement, was praised as a courageous man of great character and compassion, and one with a strong sense of community.
The funeral was held at the Free Methodist Church in Verona, which could only accommodate a fraction of the thousands of mourners, most of whom stood outside and listened on loudspeakers to the emotional tribute to Sr. Const. Flagg.
Nearly 3,000 police officers from as far away as Alberta attended the funeral to offer condolences to the Flagg family and to demonstrate the unity of the forces when one of their own is lost. With bagpipes and drums, they said a sad goodbye to their friend and colleague.
In addition to the dignitaries and police officers, thousands of Verona residents joined in the mourning. Following is a report by Inie Platenius on some of the ways in which the community simply rolled up its sleeves and did everything they could in this time of sorrow:
Last Thursdays moving tribute to the late Constable John Flagg affected the village in many many ways. Some of the stories will remain private memories; others will surface over the next weeks and months; here are a few that we heard this week. Simply providing the post-service luncheon for over 2000 people presented a logistic challenge. OPP officer Ray Westgarth (brother of longtime Prince Charles teacher Ralph) arrived days in advance to oversee all the details of the tribute, and worked closely with local caterers Joyce Casement and Jo Anne Abrams. They quickly discovered that no caterers in Kingston were prepared to provide for more than 300 people, so they called Loblaws, who put crews on all night in both their stores to provide 133 trays of sandwiches. Three cube vans of sandwiches arrived just in time, wending their way through the cemetery in order to gain access to the reception area because a throng of vehicles prevented access all other points. Tim Hortons couldnt provide coffee for more than 1000, but the new Buzz Coffee company came through with freshly ground coffee for 2500, a generator to run its pots, and staff to serve. JoAnne & Joyce supervised the provision of dessert squares 47 trays of about 100 each - many of them donated by volunteers who simply made them without being asked. Brunette Plumbing called to offer their cube van as a food staging area. Sydenhams John Trousdale lent two cattle troughs for icing cold drinks; Circle Square Ranch donated their large tent and the Verona Community Association their smaller ones; The Verona Lions Club donated the hall for staging of desserts. Bill Snider mowed and opened a field near the Free Methodist Church for extra parking, and Gwen Grant made sure the church washrooms had flowers and amenities including little sewing kits for emergency repairs. Christine Kennedy of Sydenhams Memory Lane donated four bouquets for the serving tables and many many Verona residents simply arrived on the scene to help prepare and serve, which included muscling through the crowds, trays high overhead, to get food to the many officers who couldnt get to the serving tables. Many of these volunteers took time off work to be of service, and dozens of other local businesses and individuals offered equipment and services to the event. Bravo to Verona for rallying to make a tragic and difficult time a little easier to bear.
One more story this from Prince Charles Kindergarten teacher Donna Smith: All of the students attended the funeral procession to show their respects to the family of Constable John Flagg. In the kindergarten class we talked about how important the police are to all of us, how the policeman is your friend, how Constable Flagg loved his work, and how sad the community was because of his loss. We talked about how we could show our respect by being on our very best behaviour during the procession. The kindergarten children were accompanied by their grade 4/5 buddies in Mrs. Janice Aarsen-Bruyns class. While we were in line, Janice heard a whimper from Michael McInnes, one of the kindergarten children, and when she looked down, he showed her where a bee had just stung his hand. He didn't cry out, so only those very close knew what had happened. Janice was able to get ice for him and he bravely held it on his hand. One of the police officers close by from the Niagara Regional Police Detachment bent down to tell Michael that he was a brave little boy, presented him with a pin and told him it was for bravery. The words of the pin were "Heroes in life, not in death". Needless to say Michael was a very happy little boy. The police officers spoke to many of the children to thank them for joining them and complemented them on their wonderful behaviour during the procession. I was very proud of all of my students. This was quite an experience for 3, 4 and 5 year old children
