Family and friends remember fallen hero

BUFFALO, N.Y. (WIVB) - Tuesday morning, Jonathon Croom's family and friends gathered in front of a home on Elmview Place in north Buffalo, to remember the fallen hero.

Carlos Rodriguez said, "He was a firefighter and he said he would do anything that it took to save someone's life," and that is exactly what his nephew Jonathon Croom did, when he entered an east side deli, Monday morning.

"He told me numerous times that, that was his job so he would do it, no matter what," said Rodriguez.

Family and friends of Croom stood in front of his home Tuesday morning, honoring the fallen firefighter, whose light shines through those who remember him best.

"It wasn't about what he did by being a fire fighter, it was about what he stood for as a person and how he affected everyone's life. As soon as you looked at him, you could see his smile, which is infectious, it would just make you happy, it would make his love pass through you," Rodriguez remembered.

Kellin Ryan reflects upon how much he loved his soon-to-be wife, "Him and Ingrid, his fiance, just planted sunflowers in front of the garden right over there, they wanted them to start growing, because they were going to put them at the new house, to start their new lives."

Patricia Devis said Croom had a special relationship with his grandmother, "Grandma says that whenever she saw him, he would always make her smile and always make her laugh."

Tuesday morning's memorial is a reminder of how much Croom was loved and how much he will be missed.