‘I will uphold his legacy,’ son of former trooper slain at Lisle cigar lounge says at funeral

The state of Illinois and State Police flags are lowered as the casket of retired Illinois State Police Trooper Gregory Rieves passes upon exiting the Rock of Ages Baptist Church in Maywood where the retired officer’s funeral was held on Saturday.  | Mark Black for the Daily Herald

Family, friends and fellow Illinois State Police troopers gathered at a Maywood church Saturday for the funeral of slain retired Senior Master Trooper Gregory Rieves, whom they described as loving, charismatic and prayerful.

Dozens upon dozens of squad cars and official vehicles lined Madison Street outside Rock of Ages Baptist Church. It was standing room only inside the enormous church where mourners included Rieves’ son Gregory Rieves Jr., Rieves’ parents and siblings, fellow troopers, classmates from Proviso East High School who dressed in school colors, and Phi Beta Sigma fraternity brothers from Rieves’ alma mater, Indiana State University.

During his eulogy, Gregory Rieves Jr. said his father “would want me to be the man that he was. ... I will uphold his legacy.”

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The Maywood Fire Department proceeds by the Rock of Ages Baptist Church in honor of retired Illinois State Police Trooper Gregory Rieves before his funeral Saturday in Maywood. The 25-year state police veteran was shot and killed Jan. 24 at a Lisle cigar lounge.