The Santa Clarita Performing Arts Center was packed Tuesday afternoon with mourners paying their last respects to Los Angeles County Deputy Sheriff Cameron Glover, who died in a traffic accident last Wednesday.

Cars lined Rockwell Canyon Road, passing under a giant flag lifted by the extended ladder of a Los Angeles County Fire truck before filling the parking lots and street.

A hush fell over the capacity audience that lasted long after a Sheriff’s color guard placed Glover’s flag-draped casket on a bier near the stage. While the mood was somber, speakers reminded them that Glover loved laughter – something that came naturally as a slideshow of his life played out on the giant screen.

His partner, Deputy Chris Morgan, recalled their adventures on the street and Glover’s affinity for having the right information at his fingertips and offering to help station personnel fix their computers – a business he had before joining the County’s forces.

Ethan Marquez recalled the night of the accident and how he was put in charge of intercepting Glover’s pregnant wife, Jennifer, when she arrived at the emergency room. The experience soon turned into a life-affirming encounter when she stepped to her husband’s bedside and spoke what would be her final words to him.

Speaker after speaker talked about Glover’s love for Jennifer, his high school sweetheart,  who is seven months pregnant.

Sgt. Jim Maxey was Glover’s training officer and remembered his enthusiasm for learning and serving his community.

One of the more touching moments of the afternoon came as Deputy Tom Thompson talked about mentoring Glover, sharing his love for the department with a “pimply-faced computer kid” who started out as a visiting repairman and ended up practically a member of their family. After Glover joined the department and started patrolling the streets of Santa Clarita, he took Thompson’s young son under his wing and took him on ride-alongs to teach him about law enforcement and earning the teen the name “Glover’s Shadow.”

At the end of his father’s speech, the young Thompson, wearing a Sheriff’s Explorer uniform, walked to where Jenny Glover was sitting and presented a letter addressed to the couple’s unborn son. Tom Thompson said the letter contained the boy’s impressions of Cameron as a mentor and an invitation for the boy to call on him when he was ready to become a deputy himself.

The last speaker was Glover’s brother, Jimmy, a Los Angeles City firefighter. He started out reminding the group that Cameron never liked long presentations and promised to be quick – but those gathered hung on every word he shared, laughing at several anecdotes – including Glover’s wish to be cremated and sent up in a fireworks explosion.

After the honor guard removed the flag and Captain Paul Becker of the Santa Clarita Valley station presented it to Jennifer Glover, the crowd disbursed to talk more about a young deputy, brother, friend and mentor who touched their lives.

A fund has been set up for his family; donations to the Memorial Fund for Deputy Cameron Glover may be made at the Santa Clarita Valley Sheriff’s station on Magic Mountain Parkway or at any branch of the Bank of Santa Clarita (27441 Tourney Road, Suite 100; 21021 Soledad Canyon Road or 19045 Golden Valley Road). A fundraiser for his family will be held all day Wednesday, May 5, at Jersey Mike’s Subs at Bouquet Canyon and Newhall Ranch Roads in Saugus.