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Updated: 3:04 PM- BLUFFDALE -- Slain Utah Corrections Officer Stephen Anderson was laid to rest today after being eulogized as a "Christlike man" who never failed to reach out to his family and others in need.
More than 2,000 mourners -- including several hundred law enforcement officers from around the state -- attended the two-hour funeral services for the 60-year-old father, grandfather and 22-year Corrections veteran who was gunned down during inmate Curtis Allgier's escape attempt earlier this week.
Utah Gov. Jon Huntsman said Anderson was part of a community of public servants who show up to work each day knowing they could face extreme danger.
"I think of it as the ultimate act of selflessness," Huntsman said.
"He lived the way he taught me and today it is evident his actions have had a far-reaching affect," said Anderson's daughter, Melanie Stewart, as she looked out at the crowd paying its last respects to her father at the LDS Church's Bluffdale Stake Center.
Her brother, Shawn, dressed in his own navy blue Corrections uniform, remembered his father with a poem he wrote entitled "The Greatest Man I Ever Knew."
Added another Anderson daughter, Lisa McCloy: "I know a dad who gave his life for our safety and will always be remembered."
Anderson's wooden coffin was interred in a grave near the final resting places of twin nephews. Anderson had himself dug those graves in 1994 when the premature babies died within a week of each other, family members said.
Overhead, three helicopters flew the "missing man" formation, with one of the aircraft breaking away from the flight to symbolize Anderson's loss.
A delegation of 20 Corrections officers dressed in white shirts and black ties placed flowers and white gloves on Anderson's coffin. Department of Corrections Director Tom Patterson presented the grieving family a folded American flag -- and three spent rounds from a 21-gun salute.
Anderson was escorting Allgier, 27, to a medical appointment at the University of Utah Orthopaedic Center for an MRI Monday. Prosecutors say Allgier took Anderson's gun and shot him twice.
After the shooting, Allgier went on the run, allegedly carjacking an SUV and leading police on a high speed chase before being arrested inside an Arby's restaurant.
On Thursday, prosecutors charged Allgier with eight felonies, including aggravated murder, and said they'll seek the death penalty.
Anderson leaves behind a wife, five married children and 16 grandchildren. He was a 22-year-veteran of the corrections department.
-- The Associated Press contributed to this story