Alfred G. Marchand

Alfred Marchand, 44,a highly decorated officer who received a number of commendations before retiring in March, became a flight attendant with United Airlines this year. Friends said he loved travel, flying and meeting people.

Fellow church members remembered him as a devout Christian who would pick up children on Wednesdays, when he was not working, and drive them to church. They recalled a man who would drive donations to an orphanage in Ciudad Juárez every three months. A neighbor, Jason Hayes, said that Alfred Marchand once worked Hayes' shift at a local restaurant when Hayes' wife went into labor with their daughter.

Pastor Brian Hurst said Marchand once told a man who had been arrested that the man needed to bring Jesus Christ into his life.

"He was a man of faith — he took it to work," Hayes said. "He was the most down-to-earth, nonjudgmental person I've ever known. He'd talk to you like a human being."