Being a hero doesn't always mean wearing a halo. Just ask Patti McGurrin, of Parkville, about her late brother, Jack Zoppo.
"He wasn't a saint. There were times I wanted to strangle him," she said.
But precious are the memories she carries of her kid brother, a lieutenant in the Baltimore City Fire Department who died of cancer at age 45.
"He had a big heart," she said. "His last wish was that he could fight one more fire."
Every year since his death in 2004 she drives to Dulaney Valley Memorial Gardens to take part in the ceremonies for Fallen Heroes Day held at the cemetery's Fallen Heroes Memorial, where he is buried.
McGurrin will be there again on Friday, May 1, when the bagpipes skirl, the jets fly over and the 21-gun salute is fired. Hundreds of law enforcement officers and firefighters will gather at 1 p.m. in solemn observance of the 30th annual Fallen Heroes Day, which is the only statewide ceremony in the nation to honor all segments of the public safety community.
Zoppo is one of 68 buried at the Fallen Heroes Memorial. His grave marker reads, "May your power and strength flow through us, and your eternal light shine on us."
McGurrin said the message is entirely appropriate. "He was all about power and strength. That's what he concentrated on," she said.
Zoppo, youngest in the family, and his six sisters grew up in the Parkville household of Charles Zoppo, a stone and brick mason, and his wife Frieda Zoppo. Jack Zoppo graduated in 1976 from Parkville High School, where he played football and baseball for the Knights.
His love of sports carried over into adulthood and he was an avid fan of the Orioles, (Baltimore) Colts and Ravens.
"He was a 'couch coach.' He would sit there and yell at the TV," McGurrin said.
He learned firefighting during a stint in the U.S. Air Force and, after a few years tending bar in Fells Point, enlisted in the Baltimore Fire Department, rising to the rank of lieutenant. He was "Zop" to his friends. He and his wife Sonya had two children, Charles Jacob ("Jake") and Jacqueline. He drove Corvettes and loved going to Ocean City.
His physical condition began to deteriorate and, after doctors ran tests, cancer was discovered in his kidneys. It spread. McGurrin said her brother was given a year to live, but lived for more than three years after the diagnosis and continued working while enduring painful treatments.
"He had the spirit of not giving up because our mother had that spirit," his sister said.
He died, among his family members, at his home. Not long afterward, the Baltimore Fire Officers established the Jack C. Zoppo Courage Award in his memory.
It was after his death that McGurrin learned of Fallen Heroes Day and decided to attend. "I had no clue this day existed," she said.
After hearing a particularly stirring speech at one of the services by then-Mayor Martin O'Malley, she decided to attend every year on the first Friday in May, when the ceremony is held. She takes a scrub brush to "tidy up" his grave marker.
Even though she sometimes leaves the ceremony early "because the heartache is so strong," she said she will continue attending "as long as I can, physically and mentally."
Her brother, she said, is more than just a memory.
"He's our guardian angel. He watches over his kids, his wife. If you feel a breeze on your neck, that's him," she said. "I want people to know how much he is loved, how much he is missed."
Rick Lago, a fellow firefighter and best man at his wedding, wrote in a memorial to his friend, "He had a strong will and a spontaneous personality, whether it was a last minute trip, buying a new Corvette or getting married. He knew what he wanted and went after it. He was full of pride and displayed unconditional love."
A memoriam written by Fire Chief William J. Goodwin Jr. noted, "If I could select one word to describe Jack, I select the word 'Energy.' I think we can all close our eyes and picture Jack walking or bouncing into a room, hear his laugh and agree, that was energy."
John O. "Jack" Mitchell IV, president of the Mitchell-Wiedefeld Funeral Home business, which has owned Dulaney Valley Memorial Gardens since 2007, said Fallen Heroes Day has become part of Maryland legacy.
"I think the local press and media embraced it and, after that, the whole state embraced it," he said.
Mitchelkl said McGurrin's devotion to the day of remembrance is probably shared by many who attend who have a friend or relative involved in a life-risking career.
"They come to the ceremony and find that they are now part of a group that has suffered a loss few others can relate to," he said.
Fallen Heroes Day, now in its 30th observance, will be held at Dulaney Valley Memorial Gardens, 200 E. Padonia Road, Timonium, on Friday, May 1, at 1 p.m. WBAL news anchor Stan Stovall will be keynote speaker. This year's ceremony is dedicated to John W. Armiger Jr., founder of the ceremony, who died in March. The observance is free and open to the public.