CABOT, Pa.—Dotted with farms and cornfields in the western Pennsylvania hills, Bear Creek Road is usually a quiet stretch that connects Freeport to Cabot in Butler County.
On July 19, the rural pathway was lined with men, women, and children waving American flags and paying their respects to Corey Comperatore, the local man who was killed last Saturday when a gunman shot at former President Donald Trump during a nearby rally.
Mr. Comperatore, who recently celebrated his 50th birthday, was memorialized during a funeral service at Cabot Methodist Church, not far from where he lived with his wife and two daughters in Sarver and a short drive from the Buffalo Township Volunteer Fire Company station, where he formerly served as chief and was a life member.
Running into danger to save lives was instinctual for Mr. Comperatore, a firefighter for more than two decades.
Last Saturday, in his final act, the husband and father threw himself on his family to shield them from the bullets fired by the 20-year-old shooter, Thomas Matthew Crooks, who Secret Service snipers killed.
Former President Trump’s ear was grazed by the shooting. Two other Pennsylvania men shot at the rally—David Dutch, 57, and James Copenhaver, 74—were upgraded from critical to serious condition on July 18, according to Allegheny Health Network.
Trent Fox and his wife, Sally Fox, own and operate a water company along Bear Creek Road. Helen Comperatore, Corey’s wife, worked at the business for several years as a secretary. Hayle Fox, their daughter, grew up with Allyson and Kaylee Comperatore, Mr. Comperatore’s daughters.
Mr. Fox also farms 1,000 acres, growing corn and soybeans. He set up multiple tractors adorned with American flags along the funeral procession route on Bear Creek Road.
Around a quarter-mile away, on the water company’s grounds, Mrs. Fox placed lawn chairs under a gazebo. Nearby, a classic car was draped with an American flag, and a row of small American flags lined a stretch near the road.
“There is nothing that man couldn’t do, and there is nothing he wouldn’t do. If you needed something done at your house, he was the dude,” Mrs. Fox told The Epoch Times.
“He installed an invisible fence around our house,” she recalled.
“He raked the best leaf piles to jump in during the fall,” Hayle Fox added.
The Fox family attended former President Trump’s rally, though they weren’t in the vicinity of the Comperatores.
“When we found out who was killed, we were stunned. It’s like a knife in our hearts. It hurts,” Mrs. Fox said.
Laura Hartshorn lives along Bear Creek Road, too, with her husband and three children. To “show our respect” for Mr. Comperatore, they placed a large sign in their yard that read, “Corey Comperatore: American Hero.”
“We don’t know the family personally, but we wanted to do something that honored him,” said Mrs. Hartshorn, who noted that the sign was designed and donated by a local sign company.
“God has a heavy presence in this area in our community, and that is on display everywhere you look,” she added. “I can’t even imagine the family’s loss.”
Mr. Comperatore was remembered at a candlelight vigil at Lernerville Speedway in Sarver on July 17, and thousands of mourners flocked to Laube Hall at Freeport Community Park during two public viewings on July 18.
After the funeral service on July 19, a crowd of mourners outside became silent as firefighters loaded his casket draped with an American flag onto a fire truck. The sound of bagpipes, a three-volley gun salute, and a bugle playing Taps broke the quiet.
Two sharpshooters were stationed on a rooftop at the church while several law enforcement officers stood guard outside.
Mike Drane stood across the street from Cabot Methodist Church with his wife, nephews, and niece. He and his family live nearby. A former Freeport police officer who also worked as a firefighter earlier in his career, Mr. Drane echoed the sentiments of everyone who talked to The Epoch Times, calling Mr. Comperatore “a hero.”
“This should never have happened. Corey took a bullet that was meant for Trump—a shot that should have never been fired. He just went to a rally to show his support for someone he believed in. He should still be living his everyday life, but he’s not, and it’s senseless and hard to accept,” Mr. Drane told The Epoch Times.
“When the media and all the outside supporters leave, we’ll continue with our daily lives, taking care of our families, paying our bills, mowing our grass. We should be doing that now and not be here remembering a man who should still be alive. But it is important to show respect for a man who was a pillar of the community and gave so many years volunteering to save others.”
Ron Jankosco, 72, lives on a 40-acre farm within view of Cabot Methodist Church. He joined mourners across from the church as the service started inside.
“If you don’t know him personally, you know someone who knew him. Like most small farm areas, this is a community where the houses are far apart, but the people are close together,” Mr. Jankosco told The Epoch Times.
“People here will support the Comperatore family long after the national attention moves on to something else. People here care about their neighbors.”
A 10-year veteran of the U.S. Army Reserves, Mr. Comperatore was a project and tooling engineer by profession. He spent several years in the early 2000s as a fire chief but retired from that post to spend more time with his family.
He attended Cabot Methodist Church, where pastor Jonathan Fehl presided over the funeral.
The Comperatore family issued a statement on July 19 describing Mr. Comperatore as a “beloved father and husband, and a friend to so many throughout the Butler region.”
“Our family is finding comfort and peace through the heartfelt messages of encouragement from people around the world, through the support of our church and community, and most of all through the strength of God,” the statement read.
He had the “strength to be vulnerable, and the bravery to lead with love,” the obituary read.
“Above all, Corey was the quintessential family man and the best girl dad,” his obituary said. “His love for his wife Helen (Scott) Comperatore was a testament to the power of partnership and devotion,” according to the obituary.
On Facebook, Allyson Comperatore described her father as a devoted Christian and the “best dad a girl could ever ask for. You call, he would answer, and he would do whatever it is you needed, and if he didn’t know how, he would figure out how.”
Former President Trump did not attend the funeral but paid tribute to Mr. Comperatore during his speech at the Republican National Convention in Milwaukee on July 18.
Displaying Mr. Comperatore’s fire helmet and jacket, former President Trump said, “He lost his life selflessly acting as a human shield to protect them from flying bullets” and called him “a fine man.”
“There is no greater love than to lay down one’s life for others,” former President Trump added.
Mourners started lining the funeral procession route as early as 8 a.m., three hours before the service. At Freeport Area Senior High School, where Mr. Comperatore graduated in 1992, hundreds of fire trucks and police cruisers assembled. So did dozens of motorcyclists from the Patriot Guard Riders, a national organization that honors veterans and first responders.
Tiffany Simmons, a retired volunteer firefighter whose father was a World War II veteran, told The Epoch Times, “it touches my heart to be here and show his family that they are not alone.”
“We’re a brotherhood. No matter what you ride, there’s a brotherhood, just as there’s a brotherhood among firefighters. We’re an extended family, and we believe in showing respect for our own.”
The same procession of fire trucks, police cruisers, and Patriot Guard Riders that departed Freeport Area Senior High School in the morning escorted Mr. Comperatore to his burial spot in Freeport after the funeral service.
The route led past the Buffalo Township fire station, where an American flag blew in the breeze at half-staff. Firefighters at the company have said that they are not surprised their former chief died protecting his family. They created a memorial with their fallen friend’s uniform outside the firehouse.
Two GoFundMe campaigns that were created hours after last Saturday’s shooting have raised millions of dollars.
The fundraiser’s initial goal was to collect $1 million, but as of July 19, it had generated more than $6.4 million from nearly 69,000 contributors.
