Service honors fallen deputy

Deputy Sarah Jones was remembered as a hero by those who attended her funeral Friday morning at the Sherwood Oaks Christian Church.

“Sarah lived her life as a hero,” said her childhood friend Eric Wiler, “and she died doing the job she loved.”

Jones was struck by a car Oct. 17 while directing traffic on State Road 45 around a wrecker pulling a car out of a ditch. She died two days later from her injuries.

    SLIDESHOW: Sarah Jones' funeral

Originally from Coldwater, Mich., Jones moved to Bloomington with hopes of joining the police force, a dream she had since childhood.

“She knew from an early age she wanted to serve and protect,” Wiler said. “We do not choose this career. God calls us to it.”

Wiler also thanked the community for the overwhelming support it has given to the family and friends of Jones and asked that people not forget the sacrifice she made for them while serving.

Jones served in the U.S. Air Force for four and a half years before finishing her degree in criminal justice from the American Military University. She first served in the Montgomery Police

Department in Montgomery, Ala., before coming to Bloomington with her husband, Chris.

More than 800 members of law enforcement came to show support for the family of Jones, said Darren Sroufe, chairman of the Incident/Memorial Committee of the Fraternal Order of Police, which helped organize the funeral for the family. The committee also works with the Indiana Concerns of Police Survivors, an organization that helps surviving family members of law enforcement deal with grief.

“Unfortunately we are well practiced,” Sroufe said, who has worked on the committee for 15 years.

Officers from the Monroe County Sheriff’s Department were in attendance, as well as officers from Texas, Alabama, Kentucky and Michigan and all around the state of Indiana.

Sheriff Jim Kennedy spoke at the funeral about the severe loss for the family and the police force.

“With the ceremony, we are hoping that it will somehow lighten the collective grief,” he said. “But somehow it never does.”

He also spoke of the high level of dedication and passion that Jones showed for her job.

“Sarah devoted her life to policing,” he said. “We will miss her, but we will not forget her.”

Gene Cobb, pastor of the First Church of Christ from Coldwater, said Jones was not one to stand on the sidelines. Though she knew the job was dangerous, it did not stop her from serving.

“Some people will say that she was in the wrong place at the wrong time,” he said. “But that is not true because all officers are right where they want to be.”

Following the funeral, Jones was taken back to the funeral home. A procession took Jones back to Michigan on Saturday where there was a visitation Sunday. She will be buried today.