WCNC

Officer Jeff Shelton's wife and family inside Calvary Church.

Officer Jeff Shelton was remembered as a man with an infectious smile who loved his family and his job.

Shelton and Officer Sean Clark were killed in the line of duty last Saturday night at the Timber Ridge Apartments in east Charlotte while responding to a disturbance call.

Thousands of law enforcement officers gathered inside Calvary Church for Shelton's funeral.

After the family was seated, officers of the North Tryon division where Shelton was assigned, were seated.

Officer John Rainier with the Rock Hill Police Department was Shelton’s best man at his wedding and the two met in 2001 at the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department’s training academy.

Shelton's widow asked Rainier to speak at the funeral and he said, "I panicked not because I didn’t know what to say, but because I didn’t know where to start."

Rainier started by thanking all of the officers “who were on duty the night Sean and Jeff were taken from us.”

Shelton was a warrior at his core, Rainier said, and was dedicated to being a police officer.

“In Jeff’s honor I will stand tall and proud … and protect and serve,” Rainier said.

Shelton was energetic and full of life. He always had a smile on his face and was always willing to help, Officer Gabriel Chickoree, Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department, said during the funeral.

“Often he would say I can’t believe they pay me for having this much fun. Now let’s go up to Starbucks and then find somebody to go take to jail,” Chickoree said.

Police Chaplain Bill Fogarty said he will remember Clark and Shelton for their infectious smiles.

Fogarty said a fellow officer who had supervision of Shelton’s work told him, “For some it’s job, for others it’s a calling. For Jeff it was a calling.”

Jeff’s father-in-law told Fogarty that if he could pick husbands for his daughters, he could not have picked better sons-in-laws.

Charlotte Mayor Pat McCrory also gave his condolences to the families.

"It's a human trait that we often do not appreciate what we have until it's gone," he said.

He commented on how both Shelton and Clark had built a relationship with the communities that they served and he said that the respect that the men had shown each other and the members of the community should work with law enforcement officers.

He also told Clark's widow to have hope when she see how many of the citizens of the city show up to line the procession route.

"You will see people from all generations and all backgrounds. You will see young people salute him, and that is the ultimate compliment: that young people in the next generation look up to him," said McCrory.

After the funeral a procession led Shelton's body to Sharon Memorial Park. The route was a little less than 20 miles and residents lined the streets shoulder to shoulder at some locations to pay their respects and thank the hundreds of law enforcement officers who were part of the procession.

Shelton will be buried with both police and military honors.

"We stand tall for those who have fallen and this is part of that," said Detective Scott Guffey, who made an eight-hour journey from Tampa. "We absolutely wanted to make this trip to pay our respects."

The trip to Charlotte didn’t compare to the two trips he’s made to Calvary Church.

"Unfortunately, there are no words of comfort at this time,” said Guffey. "It's incredibly painful, and it will be painful for quite some time."

Shelton was a six-year veteran of the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department, as well as a former Marine. Shelton was also a graduate of Monroe High School, where he played soccer, baseball, and football.

Tampa Officer Richard Harrell, who made the trip with Guffey, said his first impression of Shelton will last forever.

"I’d actually met Officer Jeff Shelton a few years back because I came to an NFL game here. He was very kind to me, we talked, I got his business card, so I knew this officer, and I wanted to be here with him,” said Harrell.

The Tampa police officers joined other police agencies from across the country to show their support for the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department.

"It just makes you feel good, it makes you feel relieved that everybody's showing their love and support,” said Officer Robert Fey, public information officer for the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department.

Amid the remembrances, a tight-knit community of police officers and their families held on a little tighter.

"As the day goes by, the shock begins to wear off a little bit. Then you begin your grieving process,” said Fey. “This is a lifelong healing process. It's going to start this weekend and go throughout the rest of our lives.”

He is survived by his wife Jennifer, his mother Diane, and his father John and his wife Wanda, as well as two brothers.

Friends of the couple said they had recently talked about starting a family.