RICHMOND, Va. -- The families of John Painter and J.J. Jefferson are preparing to lay the fallen officers to rest. A memorial service for the two campus officers shot and killed at Bridgewater College is planned for Wednesday.
“He always called me chipmunk," said Courtney Painter, John Painter's daughter. "That came from when I was a baby, and my cheeks were pretty big. It was shortened to Chip later down the road."
Courtney said she could go to her father for anything no matter what and he supported her through thick and thin.
“My dad was definitely my rock," she said. “He always made sure that the people around him were smiling and laughing. He was the light of a lot of peoples’ lives.”
As she prepares to honor John at Wednesday's service, she said overwhelming support for her family is coming in from all around the world. With John being hailed a hero, she wanted to emphasize his selflessness. She said his service was always about others and never himself.
“His reaction would probably be, 'What in the world. A hero? I did that for y’all, and I don't need all this appreciation and spotlight.' He'd be grateful," she said.
Meanwhile, John's nephew, Jacob Painter, has been posting several musical tributes to his uncle online, even covering a song from a concert he attended with John. On Wednesday, Jacob plans to perform his most meaningful tribute at the funeral.
“We’re going to rock it out for him one last time. I know that," Jacob said.
He and his brother Austin are playing the song "Knockin' On Heaven's Door" by Guns N' Roses. It's a song request John made for when he's laid to request.
“We were sitting around the fire last summer, and he's like, ‘Man, when this happens, I want you to play that at my funeral.' I said, 'I hope that never happens, but I'm gonna honor you,'" Jacob said.
Jacob will be on the guitar while his brother, Austin Painter, sings.
“I'm sure it'll be very emotional," Austin said. "I'm just hoping I don't start crying while I’m singing.”
Jacob will then deliver John's eulogy.
“I know he'll be there with me," Jacob said. "He'll be speaking through me. It'll come from the heart.”
Families of both officers will be in attendance paying their respects to two men who died as best friends, known as the 'dynamic duo.'
“They like to call themselves the Bravo team," Courtney said about John and Jefferson. "Anytime that they were together, they were always laughing and smiling and cracking jokes together and they lit up the room.”
"You don't find J.J. and Uncle John kind of people very often," Jacob said. "You really don't."
The memorial service starts at 11 a.m. at James Madison University at the Atlantic Union Bank Center. It's open to the public.
