BEAUMONT, Texas — Deputies at the Jefferson County Sheriff's Office are feeling a void after they said goodbye Thursday to their longtime colleague and friend LaQuintin Wilson.
Wilson died last week, from COVID-19 complications.
His funeral services were held Thursday at Maxson Memorial Church of God in Christ in Beaumont.
Friends and officers alike showed up to celebrate his life and duty. Wilson spent 15 years in law enforcement and corrections.
Captain Aaron Morris was Wilson's friend and co-worker.
“It's sweet and sour, you know. I am really proud of my brother going to his final resting place,” Morris said. “We are going to miss him here, but God has a plan for him, and we are going to trust that plan.”
They said every available sheriff's deputy in the county attended.
Many of his colleagues are still in shock at the loss of what they call "an amazing family man."
Wilson proudly put his family first. It's something his boss Jefferson County Sherriff Zena Stephens always admired.
“He had four children and a wife, you know a mother, so he loved his family, that was the most important thing to him. He also considered his coworkers his family. And so he loved many, many of them, and they loved him back,” Stephens previously told 12News.
The funeral procession headed to the Trinity Valley Community Cemetery in Kountze for burial.
His work family spent a week planning the funeral service.
Since Wilson died from COVID-19, he's considered a death in the line of duty.
“We got confirmation on everything a week ago, and we have worked tireless hours to have it perfect for LaQuintin because he deserved perfection,” Morris said.
Memories that will live on in the lives Wilson touched, and the friendships he carried.
“It means everything, actually LaQuintin was a real close friend of mine for the past 15 years, that he has been at the Jefferson County Sherriff’s department,” Morris said