'He is smiling down on all of us': Former coworkers remember, honor fallen officer

BROOKFIELD, Wis. (CBS 58) -- As family, friends and representatives from law enforcement agencies across the Midwest gathered Monday, Feb. 13 to honor fallen Milwaukee Police Officer Peter Jerving, so did his coworkers from his former place of employment, Western States Envelope and Label in Butler.

Jerving was a machine adjuster at the company before joining the Milwaukee Police Department. 

"Pete was probably one of my best friends at Western States," said Mary Lynn Ellis, who worked with Officer Jerving for roughly 13 years. "He was like a son to me. I got a hug from him every single morning."

Monday morning, Ellis and several of her fellow colleagues gathered at Elmbrook Church to attend the funeral service for their former coworker and friend who they say brought a ray of sunshine to any room he walked in.

"He was always the sunny part of the day," said Barb Kurcz, who also works at Western States. "If you were having a bad day or things were not going so good or whatever, he always found a way to bring a smile to your face and laugh. He could always cheer you up."

Ellis says there were a lot of emotions when Jerving informed the group he would be leaving the company for a career in law enforcement.

"Fear. Excitement. Obviously, everybody is always afraid we're going to lose a loved one," Ellis said. "We were all proud of him also, because he was following a dream."

The group continues to show that pride, bringing baked goods to Officer Jerving's district station and wearing buttons and embroidered clothing honoring his life. They say it's only fitting he is laid to rest on what has been a bright, sunny day.

"The sunshine today is his smile," Kurcz said. "He's smiling down on all of us today."

On Monday, Jerving's Western States family laid a memorial stone engraved with his name.