LAFAYETTE — Elizabeth Flad remembers the first time she met John Breaux. It was at the supermarket, carrying an armload of groceries to take home for dinner. She said she wasn’t in a very good mood at the time.
Breaux saw that she could use a hand. Well, actually a basket. He came up to her and offered his.
“It was funny that he appeared out of nowhere with a basket when I needed it,” Flad said.
Hundreds of people gathered Saturday morning at Flatirons Community Church for Breaux’s funeral service, each with a memory to share about the man well-known for his friendly wave and community service.
“He just radiated such joy. You couldn’t help but smile when you saw him,” Flad said.
Breaux, 57, died Jan. 30 after a Boulder woman veered off the side of the road and struck him with her car.
Gina Fox remembered being kind of scared the first time she saw Breaux running down the street. She said he waved wildly at her as he passed.
They would meet again at Starbucks, where, she said, he warned her to “Be careful out there” because her coffee was hot — this, of course, while holding the door open for her.
“He just gave me a new perspective,” Fox said. “I was so closed, and he was so open.”
Those who spoke at the service included family members, firefighters and Louisville Mayor Chuck Sisk. They said the best way to honor Breaux is to practice those fundamental values he embodied, but are often taken for granted.
“When you (see) that trash on the street, pick it up and say ‘Thanks, John. Thank you for doing that,’ ” Sisk said.
Each speaker stood and spoke in front of a large video image of Breaux in a Santa hat, his infectious smile lighting up the filled auditorium. His casket was placed just below his bike, which he had used to patrol the streets for trash to pick up and weeds to pull out.
Pastor Jim Burgen said that’s how Breaux earned his nickname, “Jesus on a bike,” but there was something more to it. He remembered what Breaux would say when curious people wondered why a man spent his days cleaning the town and making friends out of strangers.
It was because he “needed to be like Jesus for the people,” Burgen said.
As the service ended, there were moments of laughter and of tears. As Breaux’s casket was taken away, everyone seated rose to their feet and gave a final farewell wave to the man who always had a spare moment to wave at them.
A four-piece acoustic band played Eric Clapton’s “Tears in Heaven.”
“I don’t know if you’re supposed to be jealous at a funeral,” Burgen said. “I hope mine’s this good.”
George Plaven: 303-954-1638 or gplaven@denverpost.com
