A Guelph police officer who was killed in the line of duty last week is being remembered as an adventurous spirit whose commitment and love for her family, friends and hometown never wavered.
As more than 5,000 people attended a public funeral for Const. Jennifer Kovach on Thursday, family and colleagues repeatedly spoke of the personal motto she adopted – to live, love and laugh – and how it inspired others.
Kovach’s mother said her daughter kept a saying at her bedside since the age of 16: “Dream as if you’ll live forever. Live as if you’ll die tomorrow.”
“She packed more into her short life than most people do in a lifetime,” Gloria Kovach told a packed recreation centre filled mostly with police officers, firefighters and paramedics. “She lived by what she believed in and never missed an opportunity.”
At the funeral, Kovach was remembered as a young woman who had an infectious smile and a passion for animals, children and volunteering, and who loved to go downhill skiing and ride motorcycles and dirt bikes in her spare time.
A family friend read a letter from her father, Bill Kovach, who worried more about his daughter riding all-terrain vehicles than he did about her being a police officer, a career where she made a difference in so many lives, he said.
“I will love you forever and beyond and you will always be in our hearts,” stated the letter from her father, a retired paramedic.
Kovach, 26, died in an early-morning crash with a public transit bus March 14. She was in her fourth year as a constable, as she fulfilled her childhood dream of a career in policing.
In her remarks, Gloria Kovach said she will never forget “that dreaded knock on the door” when she was informed of the crash, and she thanked the police officers, firefighters, paramedics, emergency room doctors and nurses, and the driver of the transit bus for their response.
“I cannot thank you enough for doing all that you could to try to save my baby’s life,” Gloria Kovach said. “I am forever indebted to you.”
In their final phone conversation, Jennifer Kovach told her mom she was looking forward to meeting her niece, who was born hours before her death.
“She said he had to run and said, ‘I love you mom, see ya.’ I said, ‘I love you too Jen, see you in the morning,’” Gloria Kovach said.
Gloria Kovach spoke fondly of her daughter’s childhood and family vacations, describing her as an “extremely patriotic” woman who once told Prime Minister Stephen Harper she wanted to become a police officer because it was important for her to serve her hometown.
She said her daughter was proud to be a police officer, would go out of her way to check on people to make sure they were OK, and hoped to one day become a coach officer so that she could mentor someone and share her passion for policing.
"Jennifer just didn’t go to work. She lived her dream," her mother, a Guelph city councillor, said. "She loved this community and the people in it."
Become organ donors, mother says
Gloria Kovach said her daughter’s organs were donated after her death, and “two people can now see because of her gift.”
She encouraged people to register to become organ and tissue donors.
“In (Jennifer’s) honour, I would encourage you all to consider registering your consent to be an organ donor,” Gloria Kovach said.
Colleagues referred to Kovach as a "little sister" who had a bubbly and vibrant personality, and was perfectly suited for life as a police officer.
Const. Neil Moulton, who was with Kovach after the crash, said he takes comfort knowing that he was there for her in her final moments.
“If the sound of my voice to my departing friend soothed her in any way, then it was I who was blessed,” Moulton told the crowd. “So many things in life we take for granted without giving it a second thought. This has opened my eyes to how precious every day is, and I think Jen for that.”
Guelph police Chief Bryan Larkin described Kovach as a “bright, shining” police officer who had an “incredible work ethic” and a smile that brightened people’s days.
As Larkin encouraged people to embrace her motto of “live, love and laugh,” he vowed to preserve her memory in a message to her parents.
“I know you are proud and I pledge to you that she will forever be remembered as a hero in life, not death,” Larkin said. “Jennifer, may you rest in peace as you continue to live, love and laugh while you watch over us. God bless.”
Ontario Lt.-Gov. David Onley, who spoke to the crowd, said Kovach represented the admirable virtues of duty and courage, and served as an inspiration to everyone.
“When a police officer dies in the line of duty, it affects us all,” Onley said. “We grieve the senseless loss of a life and the forfeited promise of a bright future.”
Before the funeral, hundreds of emergency workers, most of them police officers from a number of agencies, marched in a procession through the streets of Guelph, as church bells tolled and citizens stood along the route to watch and pay tribute to Kovach.
As the procession neared its end, the procession divided into two groups and lined both sides of the street as a hearse carrying Kovach’s casket passed by with a police pipe band and colour guard.
Kovach’s casket, draped in a Canadian flag, was then carried into the building to the sound of bagpipes.
Tributes were visible around Guelph, where flags flew at half-mast and public transit buses displayed Kovach’s badge number.
In lieu of flowers, Kovach’s family is asking people to donate to the Jennifer Kovach Memorial Trust Fund, which will honour her memory and her love of children and animals, or to the Guelph Humane Society, according to an obituary.
Donations can be made at any Royal Bank of Canada branch or to the Guelph Humane Society.
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