ByJessica Bravo, Josh LaBella
The Hour
WETHERSFIELD, Conn. — Friends and family gathered on Sunday to honor the life of Robert Sharkevich Sr, a Wethersfield volunteer firefighter killed in the Berlin brush fire last week.
Sharkevich died Tuesday night after an ATV rolled on top of him while on a steep rocky incline, according to officials. Sharkevich was a retired Hartford firefighter and worked as a carpenter and maintainer for the Wethersfield public school district, in addition to being a local volunteer firefighter.
On Sunday, dozens of American flags lined Silas Deane Highway in front of Christ the King Church and Corpus Christi School, heading down Beaver Street to the funeral home. With 15 minutes to go before the doors opened for calling hours for Sharkevich, hundreds stood waiting. The line stretched out to the highway and continued to grow.
Dozens of uniformed firefighters and police officers from around the state were lined up outside the funeral home and in line on Silas Deane Highway.
Retired Hartford firefighter John Mudry left the wake carrying a poster board that was dedicated to firefighters who died on 9/11. A photo of Sharkevich was added to the poster board in honor of his friend.
Mudry said he and Sharkevich worked at Ground Zero together and that he lived to fight fires and to “get dirty.”
He also believes that Sharkevich would have loved the outpouring of affection from the community and his fellow firefighters.
“If you’ve ever had close calls on the job you appreciate this,” he said.
Marine Corps veteran Mike Richey stood in line in his dress blues on Beaver Road, waiting to pay his respects to Sharkevich.
“I wore them out of respect to Sharkey,” said Richey, who met him 32 years ago while the two were in the Connecticut Fire Academy together. “Absolute respect.”
Asked what he remembered most about his friend, Richey said it was his sense of humor.
“He had a sense of humor. The right sense of humor.”
Anthony Albino and his teammates from the Central Connecticut Capitals hockey team said they came to pay their respects because they played with Sharkevich’s sons and their dad was at every game.
“Great dad,” Albino said.
Hartford Fire Department Lt. Nelson Viera remembered working with Sharkevich in Hartford beginning around 2000.
“Now I work with his sons,” Viera said.
Viera said Sharkevich was an outgoing guy who was very knowledgeable about the fire service.
“He lived for this stuff,” Viera said, adding that he was also fun to have around the firehouse. “He was a ball buster.”
Sharkevich’s funeral is scheduled for 11 a.m. Monday at the Cathedral of St. Joseph in Hartford on Farmington Avenue, his obituary said.
“We are heartbroken by the loss of Robert E. Sharkevich Sr. His dedication and bravery will always be remembered,” Ken Lesser, the town’s mayor, said in a statement. “Our thoughts and prayers are with his family, firefighting brothers and colleagues during this incredibly difficult time.”
At 10 a.m. Monday, Wethersfield police said both directions of Silas Deane Highway, from the Hartford line to Wells Road, would be closed for about an hour for Sharkevich’s funeral procession.
Wethersfield police said that at 12:30 p.m., several other roads would be closed for the procession, including Ridge Road, from the Hartford city line to Prospect Street; Prospect Street at Ridge Road; Griswold Road at Prospect Street; Griswold Road at Maple Street; and Maple Street at Gilbert Avenue in Rocky Hill. The department said the roads would be affected until around 2 p.m. and there would be “significant traffic delays.”
During the return of the procession, police said that Wells Road, from Ridge Road to Goff Road; Goff Road, from Wells Road to Prospect Street; and Prospect Street, from Goff Road to Griswold Road, would also be closed to traffic.
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