Phillips' family and fellow troopers say the days before his death showed a man taking care of the people he loved.

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They filled E.A. Diddle Arena on Sunday to say goodbye to Kentucky State Police Trooper Hayden Phillips, and the people who spoke kept returning to the same two thoughts: how he lived, and how much he loved his family.

The funeral began at noon on Sunday, Oct. 4, at Western Kentucky University's arena. Phillips, 28, died Monday, Sept. 28, in the line of duty. Afterward, a procession traveled from the arena in Bowling Green to the Glasgow Cemetery, in his hometown.

A pastor's message: "He gave his life"

Pastor Gregg Farrell of Crossland Community Church, who has served as a Warren County Sheriff's Office chaplain for seven years, said he got the call on the day Phillips died.

"On Monday at exactly 2 p.m., I got a call from Sheriff Brett Hightower and he asked me to get to mile marker 38," Farrell told the crowd. From there, a deputy took him to meet Phillips' wife and children. Farrell said he delivered "a word to them that has and will change their existence."