The CFSB Center in Murray served a much different, noble purpose Saturday afternoon — when more than 1,000 friends, family and acquaintances filled the lower arena’s bowl to pay final respects for slain Calloway County Chief Deputy and Princeton native Jody Wayne Cash.
He was 44 years old, and is survived by his wife, Michelle, his two children, Jackson and Madyson, his two parents, Harold and Teresa, his sister, Kelly, his grandmother, Hilda, and countless others — who over the years had grown to rely on him in so many ways.
Often the home of concerts, outdoors shows and college basketball games, Saturday’s CFSB Center instead was filled with a mix of laughter and tears — often at the same time.
Officiant Joey Adair, a close friend of Cash’s and his Sunday School teacher at Hardin Baptist Church, let the text messages between the two of them shape the eulogy.
Adair picked out five things that stood out from their conversations over the years. Five things that really defined Cash and his life.
Number one: Cash always went for the smile.
Number two: Cash loved, and was loved, by his family
Number three: Cash served as if he was never off duty.
Number four: Cash worked to make lives better.
And number five: Cash had faith in the Lord for guidance, yet knew what it was to be human.
Nathan Kent, retired trooper and Mayfield Police Chief, told Cash’s children — the standard has been set.
Following the service, Cash’s processional moved from the CFSB Center up Hwy. 121, turned right on to 12th Street, left on to Chestnut Street and left into the Murray City Cemetery.
The first 25 minutes of the motorcade were police and sheriff’s vehicles, more than a hundred of them — in what were blue lights, and fellow brothers and sisters on “the force,” from all across the country.
Along the route, hundreds had gathered to pay silent and reverent respects — several with blue-line American flags hoisted on shoulders.
At Johnny Reagan Field, conference baseball action halted between Murray State and Tennessee Tech, as Cash’s casket was placed in a white Imes Funeral Home hearse. Bagpipes churned. Hundreds of officers saluted.
Among his many accomplishments, Cash will be remembered as a critical servant during both the Marshall County High School shooting and the devastating December tornadoes. He was an advocate for Special Olympics, and was working toward a master’s degree in counseling at the time of his death.
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