Mother of state trooper killed on duty serenaded by Southwest Airlines employee: 'What a tearjerker'
Passengers aboard a Southwest flight from Phoenix to Louisville last month were surprised when a member of the ground crew — identified as Scott Wirt — came over the loudspeaker to serenade the mother of an Arizona state trooper who died last year. A video of the Southwest staffer belting out Josh Groban’s “You Raise Me Up” has since gone viral on Facebook.
Want daily pop culture news delivered to your inbox? Sign up here for Yahoo’s newsletter.
“I just want you to know I think we should have more interruptions like this. In fact, it is no interruption at all,” wrote Sean Warren, another passenger on the flight who posted a video of the performance to Facebook. “It actually makes things quite clear. And it shares, in a public way, a private burden this family carries.”
Warren explained that he was “sitting comfortably” in his “personal universe” when a crew member came over the intercom. He said there was a mother on the flight whose son had been killed in the line of duty, and then began singing to her.
Warren thanked the flight attendant “for leading us and for honoring them,” and wrote that “thank you” seemed “utterly inadequate” for the mother.
“May you be blessed daily in your thoughts of your son’s service and sacrifice,” he wrote. “May heaven give you in abundance what you missed here on earth.”
The woman who was serenaded was the mother of Arizona Department of Public Safety (DPS) trooper Tyler Edenhofer. The young trooper was shot and killed in the line of duty in July after graduating from the State Trooper Academy in May. He is the youngest fallen trooper from DPS, according to the agency’s website.
His mother, Debbie Edenhofer, was reportedly traveling to a ceremony in Louisville where a bench was going to be dedicated to her son. She shared Warren’s video on Facebook with the caption “so blessed.”
The public was blown away by the video and offered condolences to the mother.
“Wow! What an angel!” one Facebook commenter wrote. “Thanks for sharing this touching moment with us! Deepest condolences to the Mom and tell Scott to keep it up! I love Southwest Airlines!”
“What a tearjerker,” another said. “God bless him and the fallen officer. Mom too.”
Read more from Yahoo Lifestyle:
Southwest pilot turns plane around after passenger reportedly bleeds from ears over pressure
Police remove woman who ordered fellow passenger in airport line to ‘sit down’
Follow us on Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter for nonstop inspiration delivered fresh to your feed, every day.
