igor soldo

As a family, we decided to attend Igor Soldo's funeral. Nicole, her parents, her sister, her brother, Alyn's parents, and five of Alyn's siblings were escorted to and from the services by police (we didn't have to wait for red lights, stop signs, other cars, merging traffic, etc.). I've never been to a cop funeral before, or any funeral for our armed forces. It is absolutely amazing how much respect and honor they have for each other and the families of their fallen. Our armed forces really are a band of brothers. As we approached the building, we walked down between two rows of officers that were standing at attention. I think we all lost it a minute and luckily were able to compose ourselves in a private room. 

It was good to learn more about Igor: who he was, who his family is, and what kind of dynamic he and Alyn most likely had. Igor was a son. A brother. A husband. And a father.

Igor's little boy is not yet one years-old. You can see in the video above and from the speeches given by Igor's friends during the funeral that Igor absolutely ADORED his little boy. 

Igor's wife, Andrea, at the end of the funeral. Absolutely heartbreaking that she is now a young widow with a young son. 

Igor's brother, Robert, did an amazing job giving his speech during the funeral. The Soldo family came to Alyn's funeral as well. Robert, Andrea, and the rest of the Soldo clan stayed until the very end of the funeral and met and chatted with Alyn's family. Robert came to hug me and tripped on my diaper bag. "I must be careful," he said in his thick Bosnian accent. "If I trip and fall, I will squish someone."

Robert is a BIG man. And so is his little brother. Igor sounded like a taller, broader version of Alyn: kind, compassionate, a jokester, loyal, dependable, fierce, strong, fun, lovable.