Excerpts from the ChicagoTribune.com:
Two firetruck ladders hoisted an American flag into the air near the entrance of a Southwest Side church where mourners attended visitation Sunday for Juan Bucio, a Chicago Fire Department diver who died during a rescue attempt last week.
Bucio, who also served on the Chicago Police Department for several years, died May 28 while searching for a man who had fallen off a boat on the South Branch of the Chicago River near Ashland Avenue. The father of two young sons was separated from his partner for a brief period and pulled from the water before he was pronounced dead at Stroger Hospital about two hours after the initial dive.
The cause of Bucio’s death remains unknown. Fire and police investigators are continuing to review the rescue attempt while autopsy results are pending from the Cook County medical examiner’s office. Bucio is survived by nine siblings, including a sister who is a member of the Chicago Police Department and a brother who is a member of the Chicago Fire Department.
When the public portion of the visitation closed about 6 p.m., hundreds of firefighters from across Illinois and the Midwest lined up on a grassy lawn outside the church to take part in the traditional walk-through. Officials estimated more than a thousand firefighters took part.
Mourners will return to the church at noon Monday for Bucio’s funeral. A full honors burial will follow at Mount Auburn Cemetery, 4101 S. Oak Park Ave. in Stickney.
