BLOOMINGTON -- A community is mourning the loss of a police Lieutenant who lost his battle with cancer last week.

Those who remember Carl Boyd say for him, "good cop" was not just a role that he occasionally played, it was the life he led.

The flags waved at half mast in Bloomington, as hundreds gathered to remember Lieutenant Carl Boyd who died after a two-year battle with cancer last week.

The 24-year veteran of McLean County's Sheriff's Department leaves behind his wife Tara and  nine year old Adam.

  Those who remember him say he wore his titles with honor.

 "[He was] a man who was just simply good to be around. Ate lunch with him, enjoyed the time, he was just a good man," Dr. Donald Crittenden.

Though he lead his last year in constant pain, his best friend says he was always there for the community he served.

  "All along for 2 1/2 years he would be diagnosed with something, he would get it, he would fight it and he would beat it. We just never expected that this day would be here it's heart crushing. I mean it's like losing a part of yourself," Detective Joe Zoeller.

  As 70 squad cars led the precession, Zoeller couldn't help but remember the 44-year old's dedication.

" [He was] a guy that loved his family, loved his son, loved his wife and loved his parents, loved his in laws and loved his job. He dedicated his life to make this community better for everybody that lives in it, and that was important to him."

And the detective says serving McLean county won't be the same without him.

"He'd come to my office to sit and vent or I'd go to his office to sit and vent but he was just always there, always there when you needed him," frowned Zoeller.