PHOENIX,AZ — It has been about eight months since Arizona rookie Trooper Tyler Edenhofer was shot and killed in the line of duty. Grief remains fresh for his mother, Debbie Edenhofer. After she was the last person to board a flight from Phoenix to Louisville, Kentucky, for a ceremony honoring her son, she experienced a truly uplifting moment that had nothing to do with takeoff. Southwest Airlines ground crew worker Scott Wirt followed her onto the plane, got on the intercom and belted out Josh Groban’s “You Raise Me Up.”
Edenhofer was overcome, and so were other passengers on the plane. One of them, Sean Warren, shared a video of Wirt’s impromptu tribute, writing last month in an open letter to Southwest that he posted on Facebook:
“I just want you to know I think we should have more interruptions like this. In fact, it is no interruption at all. It actually makes things quite clear. And it shares, in a public way, a private burden this family carries.”
He thanked Wirt for his beautiful song, and the fallen trooper’s mother for her sacrifice.
” ‘Thank you’ seems to utterly inadequate,” he wrote. “May you be blessed daily in your thoughts of your so’s service and sacrifice. May heaven give you in abundance what you missed here on Earth.”
Tyler Edenhofer was killed and a second trooper was shot in July 2018 after authorities were called to Interstate 10 to investigate reports of an erratic driver near Avondale. A fight ensued when troopers tried to talk to the suspect, who grabbed a trooper’s gun and fired twice. Edenhofer, who had just graduated from the Arizona Department of Public Safety academy in May 2018, is the youngest fallen trooper in DPS history, the agency wrote on its website.
Debbie Edenhofer, who was on her way to Louisville for the dedication of a bench in her son’s honor, told USA Today that she and Wirt have since struck up a friendship. He found her profile on Facebook and they started chatting.
“It’s so amazing how people come into your life,” she told the newspaper. “Scott is a very nice and caring person.”
Wirt said in a statement to USA Today that “it’s a passion of mine to be able to give back to our customers in a way I know how, and that’s by singing.”
“This particular story touched my heart and I couldn’t think of a better way to honor their son’s legacy by singing such a wonderful song,” he wrote. “We never know why someone is traveling but when we do, we want to be there for them.”
Condolences poured in for the grieving mother on Facebook. Some of those commenting know Debbie Edenhofer, but others are strangers. They called Wirt’s tribute “beautiful” and a “grand gesture,” and someone called him “an angel.”
“I am so profoundly sorry for your great loss,” one woman wrote. “He died bravely as he served his community.”
“Hi Debbie,” another woman wrote. “We do not know each other but saw the story on your handsome son and the serenade. My heart breaks for the loss to your family and just felt the need to send a message and a hello. My thoughts and prayers to you and yours.”
A woman who saw the story in Africa noted that she and Edenhofer may never meet, wrote: ” … I saw the serenade and my heart breaks. As a mother, no one prays to be in such a position. But we remain thankful as your lovely son served his community and country. Our prayers and good thoughts to you and your family. …”