CLEVELAND, Ohio — Serving as a first responder takes altruism, and Johnny Tetrick was the epitome of that characteristic.
“He was the most kind compassionate and selfless person ever,” said Johnny’s daughter Regan Tetrick. “Every single fireman risks their life every single day, they’re the definition of selfless and even when he wasn’t working he was [selfless].”
Johnny, a veteran Cleveland firefighter served the department for 27 years.
“He wanted to help people like my grandpa did,” said Johnny’s daughter Falon Tetrick. “He said he studied for a year before the test and he was number one in his class by one point.”
“He was the guy that every fireman on the job looked up to, he knows that job better than anybody,” said Greg Juratic, Johnny’s best friend and coworker.
Johnny lost his life in the midst of working to save someone else’s, he was out responding to a crash on I-90 near Martin Luther King Jr Blvd when a car drove through the scene, hitting and killing Johnny.
“He was my rock, how do you pull your rock out from underneath you,” asked Regan.
You would imagine Johnny’s family would be furious at the driver who killed him.
“He would not have wanted us to have an ounce of hatred in our heart for that man,” said Johnny’s daughter Eden. “He always taught us that no matter what people do don’t ever be bitter, always stay kind, generous and loving, so we’re not mad.”
Instead, Johnny’s loved ones say they have peace because they know who his life was devoted to, and because they know where he’s watching over them from today.
“It was God over everything, there wasn’t a second in my life where I doubted where he was in his relationship,” said Regan. “It’s hard now, but God is good all the time.”
Johnny's daughters are urging anyone in the public to attend his services this weekend. The funeral service is planned for 11 a.m. Saturday, Nov. 25 at Rocket Mortgage Fieldhouse, his wake will be held Friday from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m. and 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. at Willoughby Hills Friends Church at 2846 Som Center Road.
RELATED: 'He served his community on and off duty': honoring veteran firefighter Johnny Tetrick
Watch live and local news any time:
Download the News 5 Cleveland app now for more stories from us, plus alerts on major news, the latest weather forecast, traffic information and much more. Download now on your Apple device here, and your Android device here.
You can also catch News 5 Cleveland on Roku, Apple TV, Amazon Fire TV, YouTube TV, DIRECTV NOW, Hulu Live and more. We're also on Amazon Alexa devices. Learn more about our streaming options here.
