A long line of people, carefully spaced, stretched down both sides of 203rd Street near Dewdney Trunk Road in Maple Ridge on Saturday afternoon, Oct. 17.
There were dozens and dozens of mourners there to pay their last respects to Mike Pedrosa, a Ridge Meadows RCMP constable who passed away from cancer on Oct. 10 at his home surrounded by his family.
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Because of the COVID-19 pandemic, a large turnout at the funeral service wasn’t possible, so a procession of vehicles, led by a motorcycle, slowly passed by to give all who wanted, a chance to say goodbye.
A video of the full service was posted online.
In a statement, RCMP Supt. Jennifer Hyland described Pedrosa as a long-time officer who “served with honour and pride.”
“Rest in peace Mike, from your brothers and sisters” Hyland said.
A tribute video to Pedrosa was posted online by the detachment.
Ridge Meadows RCMP also shared the valedictorian speech that he gave at his graduation as an RCMP officer in 2007, saying it displayed the values of courage and strength that Pedrosa embodied.
“You have heard of a time far, far away when loyalty was honourable, when a pure and strong heart was a good thing, when showing compassion and dedication to others was more important than putting yourself first,” Pedrosa said.
“Do not embrace values at work because it is policy. Embrace values in your life because there is good in it. Even at home, you are a display of good values to the community around you. Love your wife, be faithful to her. Love your husband and cherish him. Invest your life into the lives of other people around you, especially the youth, and you will see safe homes and safe communities as those children you have invested in grow older.”
He closed by telling his troop that “the fight is on for the hearts and minds of the nation. The only thing necessaryfor the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing. You who are good men and women, fight the good fight! You who are good men and women, you shall wear a scarlet uniform! Fight the good fight! Fight the good fight!”
In a GoFundMe page started for Pedrosa, friend Shannon Stenbeck said a tumor was discovered in Pedrosa’s brain after he suffered a grand mal seizure in March 2010.
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At that time Pedrosa underwent surgery and underwent eight months of chemo when the tumor was determined to be malignant.
But on Sept. 7, 2016, he suffered another seizure and was rushed to hospital where a CT scan and a later MRI revealed a mass in his previous tumor site.
He underwent brain surgery that year.
Donors on the site raised $13,140 for his family.
Pedrosa leaves behind his wife, Ida, and three children.