Aaron Feis, the Florida football coach who was hailed as a hero for shielding students from gunfire during last week’s mass shooting, has been laid to rest.
Remembered as a “big teddy bear” and father figure to students, the 37-year-old was a loving father, husband and security officer at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School. And on Feb. 14, he was one of the 17 people killed by gunfire when a former student sprayed bullets on the campus.
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An emotional memorial service was held at the Church by the Glades in Coral Springs, Florida, on Thursday for Feis, who sacrificed his like to save students from the attack.
Four of Feis’ pallbearers were football players wearing their jerseys for the 1999 Stoneman Douglas graduate, who is survived by his wife Melissa and their 8-year-old daughter Ariel.
“We throw around the words hero and heroic pretty easily. We’re not just celebrating a husband, father, brother, coach and friend. We’re celebrating a hero,” pastor David Hughes said to the congregation, according to the Miami Herald.
Feis was reportedly one of the first to respond to the attack on the high school last week, sprinting after 19-year-old confessed gunman Nikolas Cruz on foot while unarmed. Survivors told the Miami Herald that Feis shielded students from being struck by bullets and pushed at least one girl from the shooter’s line of sight.
“Before you even heard how he died, you knew he died putting himself in harm’s way to save others. That’s who he was,” Broward Sheriff Scott Israel said in his speech. “[He died] running toward danger while others were correctly running away from danger,” continued Israel, who worked alongside Feis as a volunteer football coach when his two sons attended Stonemason Douglas.
“Feis had no gun, no rifle. And yet he ran toward helping students. He was just such a great individual. I can’t remember anyone calling him Aaron. It was Feis — kind of like saying LeBron or Michael,” the sheriff said, adding, “Head coaches have come and gone but what’s the one constant? Big Feis. Kids would do more for Feis because they never wanted to let him down.”
During the memorial service, Feis’ father Louis shared a letter he received from a stranger in Washington who heard about the shooting. He wrote that he was moved by his son’s “act of bravery toward the students who saw evil in its purest form and then saw love in its purest form from Mr. Feis.”
Three days after the mass shooting, Stoneman Douglas head football coach Willis May gave a moving tribute to Feis on Good Morning America.
“He didn’t need to get shot to be a hero. He was a hero every day because people looked up to him, respected him,” May said. “It’s not a high-paying job but if you can change somebody’s life, you know, and make him into a better person, that’s what it’s all about.”
Feis’ memorial service was also attended by Gov. Rick Scott, as well as former Miami Dolphins players Jason Taylor and Sam Madison.
