TUCSON, Ariz. (KGUN) — Beginning with a procession from the Oro Valley funeral home to Casas Church, first responders from multiple agencies honored EMT Jacob Dindinger's legacy.
The 20-year-old EMT who was shot in Silverlake Park earlier this month in a fire-turned-shooting spree in a Tucson neighborhood died only four months into the job.
“Evil took him from us, but evil will not win the day. Jacob. I will miss you more than you could know," read Byran Presutti from a letter that Jacob's father wrote.
His father went on to write that Dindinger was the 'the guy who wanted to make a difference.'
“He gave me a post-it note that read, you only live once. But if you, do it right, you only need 120 years it's just not enough, but he was doing it right. He wanted to be the person who made this world a better place in his own small way,” he said.
As his big brother Bryan Presutti explained, Dindinger was working his way up to accomplish his dream.
“He called me and he says hey bro. I want to be a firefighter. And I want to work in Long Beach. I said, 'That's awesome---maybe we'll get you hired out in Arizona, then you can step up to the big leagues,'" he said.
The AMR family called the memorial service a day of closure.
“This is where we say our final goodbyes to Jacob and we get to remember him from here on out and just kind of start a new day tomorrow," said Damon Schilling,
Dindinger’s short but impactful legacy will live on in Tucson and AMR will sponsor Dindinger's enshrinement into the National EMS Memorial.
