Loved ones and colleagues of fallen police officer Michael Flisk paid their final respects Wednesday afternoon at St. Rita of Cascia Church on the city's Southwest Side.
In front of a packed congregation that included Mayor Richard Daley, police Supt. Jody Weis, colleagues, family and friends, Flisk's daughter, Margaret Flisk, eulogized her father as a hardworking man who strived to give his family everything they needed, who never missed a school or sports function and who enjoyed cars and motorcyles.
"So many people have told us we were lucky to have him. Indeed, we were lucky to have him at all," she said, standing with her three brothers next to a portrait of their father.
"Looking to the future, I cannot fathom the idea of his physical appearance not being there. Two of the events I looked forward to my dad being at most were my graduation from Marquette University and my wedding day. Never did I imagine my dad's 6-foot figure not walking beside me," she said.
Flisk, 46, was killed in the line of duty Friday while collecting evidence at a crime scene on the south side, along with homeowner and former CHA Officer Stephen Peters. The man accused of killing them, 19-year-old parolee Timothy Herring, has been ordered held without bond.
"Having to answer the front door after a wonderful Thanksgiving to find out my father was murdered is a feeling I cannot put into words," said Margaret Flisk.
She thanked the roughly 1,000 mourners for their support in the days since her father's death, drawing laughter when she expressed gratitude for "the food, the cards, the food, the flowers, your prayers, your food, the memories... and in case I didn't mention it -- the food."
Officer Flisk was a devoted family man who had nicknames for his children and his wife -- "the person my dad loved the most," she recounted.
"Every morning, before my dad went to work, he would wake up my mother just to say he loved her."
During the service, Supt. Jody Weis was invited to speak by Rev. Tom McCarthy, but after walking to the front he informed McCarthy that the family preferred to hear only from Flisk’s daughter, the Chicago Sun-Times reported.
Flisk was buried at Holy Sepulchre Cemetery in Alsip.
