The church where Lisa Johnson and Jason Scott Zunker spoke their wedding vows becomes the site of their last goodbye Saturday.
Zunker, a Chippewa County Sheriff's Deputy, was struck by a motorist Friday while directing traffic around a truck fire along Highway 53 south of Bloomer. He died of his injuries Saturday.
He died doing what he loved, according to his wife.
"Jason loved going to work so much that he said going to work was like being on vacation with a smile," she said in a prepared media statement.
Visitation for the 31-year-old Zunker begins at 5 p.m. Friday in Pilgrim Lutheran Church and resumes in the church Saturday for one hour before the 11 a.m. funeral. Lenroot-Maetzold Funeral Home, Superior, is assisting the family with arrangements.
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Zunker was born in Superior and grew up in Hawthorne. He graduated from Northwestern High School in 1995, and played on the basketball team. He earned an automotive mechanic degree from the Wisconsin Indianhead Technical College and worked as a mechanic in Wausau and Eau Claire before following his childhood dream of a law enforcement career.
Zunker married fellow Hawthorne native Lisa Johnson in June 2003, the same year he graduated from the Wisconsin Police Academy and was offered a position as reserve officer with the Chippewa County Sheriff's Department. He became a full deputy in 2004.
The couple settled in rural Augusta.
"Jason is a wonderful, caring, compassionate husband and is my best friend," his wife said. "He would have done anything for me; he was my rock."
In his four years with the department, Zunker was a member of the SWAT team and the jail emergency response team. He also served as a firearms instructor, and the captain of the Chippewa County State Pistol Shooting Team.
"Jason accomplished all of this in only four years with the department," said his wife.
Chippewa County Sheriff James L. Kowalcyzk recalled Zunker as a "class act guy" who shared his passion for hunting with his fellow officers.
"He loves hunting, loves every aspect of hunting," and went on numerous hunting expeditions with fellow officers, Kowalcyzk said.
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His wife remembers Zunker's desire to have a positive impact on the children in the community.
"He would carry deputy badge stickers in his pocket and hand them out to kids all the time," she said.
Members of the community sent dozens of e-mails supporting Zunker and his family to the WEAU-TV Web site. The deputy was remembered as a kind man who was quick to return a wave or a smile.
"He could strike up a conversation with anybody and everyone liked him," his wife said.
The Chippewa County Sheriff's Department has rallied around the family.
"There's a tremendous amount of agency support for Jason, his family, his wife Lisa," Kowalcyzk said.
Deputies from Chippewa and Douglas counties and members of the Superior Police Department escorted the family and Jason's body to Downs-LeSage Funeral Home in Superior Monday afternoon at the family's request.
The motorist who struck Zunker is cooperating with authorities. The Wisconsin State Patrol is currently reconstructing the accident, which could take some time, Kowalcyzk said. No charges have been filed in the incident.
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State law dictates that drivers must slow down or move into the left lane when they approach emergency vehicles on the roadway. Those include wreckers, fire trucks and ambulances as well as law enforcement vehicles. Violating the law carries a $249 fine.
Although Zunker was doing his job in the prescribed manner, Kowalcyzk said, "bad things still happen to good people."
