SOUTH JORDAN — In his final moments, Jeffrey Phillip Walker acted just as he did in every other moment of his life — with a display of love for his family.
And that, friends and family said Saturday, will remain long after the horror of last week's shooting rampage at Trolley Square.
"Evil has touched us, but it will not leave a mark. Because Jeff Walker's legacy is love and compassion.... That always trumps evil," family friend Tracy Mower said at Walker's afternoon funeral.
Walker, 52, was shot and killed Monday while Valentine's Day shopping with his teenage son. The father of four attempted to shield his 16-year-old son from the gunman's shots, fired in the mall's west parking lot. AJ Walker remains in serious condition at University Hospital.
"His last act was to save AJ," Mower said. Then, speaking directly to the boy, who may one day view a videotape of Saturday's services, he said: "And in his head, his last thought was for you.
"It turns out that my friend, Jeff, is a hero," Mower said. "An authentic hero."
But not any more a hero, he said, than every other day of his life. Friends and family remembered Walker as a dedicated husband and father, fiercely devoted to his four children and wife of 22 years, Vickie.
"There would never be time that you could spend with Jeff Walker of any length that he wouldn't make reference to his wife. Never," Mower said. "How Jeff loved this woman."
Walker had other loves, too. A member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, Walker valued his church assignments. The hundreds of attendees at Saturday's service were greeted with Walker's fly-fishing gear, and photos of the Walkers on many family vacations filled tables at the Country Park Stake Center.
Then there were those big sugar cookies with the pink frosting, the ones Vickie Walker feared would one day lead her husband to a heart attack. And that would not have been Jeff Walker's chosen way to die, Ed Walker said, given his brother's preference for doing things "in a big way."
Above all else, Jeff Walker's true love was his friends, his family and his faith. He put his heart and soul into all three, speakers said Saturday.
"If you got to know Jeff, you really loved him," said Walker's father, Edward. "And why was that? It's because he loved you back."
Had he been at the service, Mower said, the man with the striking blue eyes and the "velvet voice" would have had a warm greeting for each person there.
"He would have hugged all the women and he'd hug half the men, whether you wanted it or not," Mower said. Each embrace would have been followed by a sincere, "I love you, man."
Based on their faith, the speakers expressed their sincere belief that they will see Walker again.
Until that time, Mower said, he will be making friends and helping others, just as he did in life. "What happened there, at Trolley Square, was not the end."
E-mail: awelling@desnews.com