Updated 5:12 p.m.:More than 2,000 of Larry Campbell's closest friends and co-workers gathered today to say goodbye.
The crowd filled the cavernous sanctuary of Tallahassee's St. Peter's Anglican Church and overflowed into the church's basement meeting rooms and exterior cloister walks. Campbell, Leon County sheriff since 1996 and more than half-a-century in law enforcement, lost a long batter with cancer and died Christmas Eve at the age of 72.
Hundreds of officers from law enforcement agencies all over Florida were among the funeral attendees. One of them, Assistant City Manager and Former Tallahassee Police Chief Tom Coe, told the congregation that Campbell had wanted his memorial service to be a joyful event with more laughs than tears.
Also delivering a eulogy was Campbell's son, Assistant State Attorney Jack Campbell. He also recalled his father as fun-loving and ferociously devoted to both his family and community.
Governor Rick Scott appointed Major Robert Swearingen as interim sheriff following Campbell's death.
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Leon County Sheriff Larry Campbell is being laid to rest at the St. Peter's Anglican Church, where he was a member. Tuesday's funeral service marked the end of a long career for Campbell, who served 18 years as Sheriff.
He died Dec. 24, Christmas Eve due to cancer.
In 2007 he was diagnosed with lung cancer and quit smoking. The cancer returned in 2013 in his left lung and bladder. He was treated for it, but in a statement issued through the Sheriff's department shortly before his death, Campbell announced the cancer had returned yet again.
During his most recent public appearances related the shooting death of a Leon County Sheriffs Deputy, Campbell appeared frail and had trouble walking, but he did not discuss his illness nor the extent of it.
Campbell, 72, is survived by his wife, Machelle; his son, Jack Campbell; two daughters, Jeannette Campbell Bjorklund, and Stephanie Meghan Capps; grandchildren, Colton Laurence, Campbell James, Carsyn Taylor and Kaden John; a brother, David Ferrell; and father-in-law, former Jackson County Sheriff John P. McDaniel.
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