What does one lose when someone is taken suddenly and too soon in their lives?

For the family of Detective Kristen Hearne, it was everything. Since she was killed in the line of duty almost five years ago, the family has lost time: Christmas and Thanksgiving, birthdays and midweek days when she made favorite meals for her loved ones. Prayers in church. Comfort to friends during times of trouble and good.

All of that erased in just a moment of time. That was just some of what Trish Brewer shared in the courtroom during the sentencing of the man who took Kristen away from her family and community.

But she, her husband Ronnie, and the rest of the family also had another message to share afterward: one of special memories, and thanks for the outpouring of support that continues from all over the world even after all these years after her passing.

“When Kristen was killed, the community came together and they showed their love. They showed their love for Kristen in ways that I can never say thank you enough,” Trish said.

“They showed their love to us,” Ronnie added.

“Not only the community, who lined the highways all the way down with signs and banners,” Trish continued. “… How can I say you mean so much to our family, for your love and your support.”

“The law enforcement community too,” Ronnie jumped in. “They’ve been so good to us as well, and we mean nationwide.”

“The local merchants, the restaurants, and different places that i wasn’t even aware of at the time,” Trish finished. “Sabrina (his wife) said ‘they just keep bringing it in’ and we don’t know who it was, but they were piling the house full of food and drinks. There was never not enough food there, never not enough drinks there, because the restaurants and different places.”

It kept their family fed, covered, loved throughout the hardest moments of their lives following the tragic loss.

When they say thank you, it is heartfelt. Because all the hugs, all the prayers, all the moments through the turbulence of the loss for every member of their family – including Kristen’s brothers and sisters she served with in Floyd County and Polk County – those are the times over the past five years in the aftermath that have made the difference.

Ronnie also added that the continued outreach of the community has made a difference in their ability to grieve, and not from just here in Polk County, but everywhere. Especially those who have served and continue to serve their communities in public safety.

“I want the people to know how much you much everyone is appreciated. How much our daughter appreciates you,” Trish said.

The pain is still there for Det. Hearne’s family, not just because of the circumstances of her loss. Because of the hole she left in so many lives, well beyond her time serving in law enforcement. Individually, the absence is incalculable.

Kristen was more than just a police officer. She was a mother, a daughter, a sister to Matt, Joseph and Patrick, a wife to her husband Matt. A daughter in law to Chris and Marie. A granddaughter. A friend. There were so many dimensions to her that can never be fully known.

Kristen was many things, including woman who enjoyed big trucks and belt buckles, but was also feminine too.

“She was raised with brothers, she was the only girl,” Trish said. “She grew knowing how to stand her ground.”

Yet there were other sides to her as well, one that delighted the tastebuds with anyone who came across her talents in the kitchen.

“There wasn’t a woman in the world that could compare to her cooking,” Trish said. “I’m going to be honest with you: she could have thrown down a meal that if she wanted to open up a café or a restaurant, she could have made a living at it.”

Though professionally she didn’t wear makeup and kept to her uniform, when off the clock she was a real lady, Trish added.

The family recalled back to their last weekend together in 2017 with Kristen – the Saturday of the Georgia-Mississippi game – and how much fun she had with her son, how much joy she spread among the family. How she was herself outside of her uniform.

Kristen was 29 when she died, only having gotten to spend three years with her son Isaac. A child she had prayed to have for many years and got to even in a few years teach to love and care for the world as she did.

Yet she was precocious too. Trish and Ronnie recalled how one evening, after he came home from a long day of work, a young Kristen begged and begged to let her paint Ronnie’s toenails.

Only if she were willing to scrub his feet would he relent.

“And sure enough, she got a basin and got down on the floor and scrubbed his nasty feet,” Trish laughed. She picked out a bright red color.

Hours later, Trish and Kristen were taking Ronnie to the emergency room in the middle of the night after he was suffering pain in his feet.

“We got him in there, they took one look at his toenails and Kristen and I swore that we didn’t know him, we just brought him in off the street,” Trish said.

Moments like these are what keep people who have lost alive with their families, and friends, and members of the community as a whole long after the ones we love have passed away. The memories good and bad allow for the message of Kristen’s love and compassion for all that she encountered to continue to spread, like dandelions in the wind.

Click here for the full memorial from Litesey Funeral Home following Det. Hearne’s passing in 2017.