REPUBLIC, Mo. -- Family, friends and colleagues stopped to offer comfort to the family of a fallen hero on Monday evening.  Greene County Sheriff's Deputy Gary McCormack lost his life early Saturday in a collision with a pickup driven by an Ebenezer volunteer firefighter.

  Both men were responding to a reported car crash on Missouri 13 when they collided at Farm Road 145 and Highway WW.

  The visitation for McCormack was Monday evening at First Baptist Church of Republic.   Earlier in the day, a relative and a former colleague talked about their memories of McCormack.

  “I don't think it's really set in with everybody yet.  It just doesn't seem like Gary can be gone,” said Greene County Sheriff’s Deputy Ken Shaw, a cousin of McCormack.   “It's hard to explain. It’s hard to put into words.

  “Not only was Gary my cousin but he was my coworker, not only with the Republic Police Department but the sheriff's department.

  “I can remember when I heard he was getting married.  He and Stephanie were high school sweethearts and she was the love of his life but that was Gary.  He loved, he really did.  He truly would give everything for everybody.”

  “Gary came to me in May of 2000.  He'd just graduated from the police academy and was trying to get his start in law enforcement,” said Joe Rushing, director of CoxHealth security.  “I hired Gary to be a security officer here and, during that, he told me he wanted to be a policeman someday but he had to get some experience.

  “He was just in our office about ten days ago; had his kids in, showing his daughter off, how proud he was of her. He was happy to be a Greene County deputy.  Now he was looking forward to that job.

  “Gary touched a lot of lives wherever he went.  He was a fine young man.”

  The funeral for McCormack is set for Tuesday at 1 at Second Baptist Church, 3111 E. Battlefield Road in Springfield.  Graveside services will follow at Greenlawn North Cemetery, 3506 N. National Ave. in Springfield.

KY3 News photojournalist John Kelly contributed to this report.