A Newington man is being posthumously honored as a police officer following his brave battle with cancer.
"He touched so many lives in his short life," Jack Bishop's mother Kathy said.
Jack passed away last week after a rough, two-year battle with cancer. He was 24 years old.
"He fought and he was so brave and was amazing and an inspiration to everybody," Kathy said.
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"The outpouring after he passed last week, he did touch a lot of people," Jack's dad Roland said.
Roland, Kathy and younger brother Matthew said to know Jack was to love him, and his friends thought the same.
"He was always trying to help people, that was his goal," friend Sarah Mains said.
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Jack and Mains have been friends since the seventh grade. She said he was a fair, kind and intelligent young man who dreamt of becoming a police officer. Jack even attended the Youth Police Academy in Newington and in the spring, he graduated with a criminal justice degree from Central Connecticut State University.
Following Jack's death, the Newington Police Department posthumously honored him as a police officer.
"I don't think he thought it would've happened in a million years, that someone would honor him that way. He touched so many and he definitely deserved it," Mains said.
In a Facebook post, the police department wrote:
"...In honor of his goal of becoming a Newington Police Officer and standing beside the men and women of the Newington Police Department, Jack was sworn in as an honorary Newington Police Officer by Chief Clark on Monday, August 8, 2022. Jack’s brother Matthew took the oath and was presented Jack’s badge by Lt. Bill Jameson..."
"He did work so hard and even when he was diagnosed with cancer, he still pursed his career in law," Matthew said.
Now that he's gone, his family remembers the bright man who craved life - he may not have had the chance to hit the streets on the beat, but his passion to help will live on through them.
"It's sad but what Jack left behind is all of us. He has me and eight great guy friends and his qualities will live through all of us, and I definitely think he appreciated the small things, and taught us to appreciate the small things, and I will never forget that," Mains said.
A service for Jack was held Thursday night.
"Take away a lesson from this young man, live your day to the fullest every day, love everyone around you and help make this a better world," Kathy said.
