Easter Breakfast Held At Sunnybrook Country Club For Families Of Fallen Police Officers
PLYMOUTH MEETING, Pa. (CBS) -- A special Easter breakfast was held Thursday morning for the families of fallen police officers. It was a special morning at the Sunnybrook Country Club.
"I always say we belong to a club that we didn't want to be a part of," said Judy Cassidy.
It's a club full of unwanted members.
This was the 18th year for the Holiday Meals for Heroes program.
Thirty-five fallen officers from the Philadelphia region were honored.
Cassidy is the widow of Philadelphia Police Officer Chuck Cassidy. Chuck was shot on Halloween in 2007. He was in a Dunkin' in North Philadelphia. Fifteen years later, Judy says she thinks of him every day.
"I'm happy. I'm happy," she said. "But a big part is missing."
Judy also knows the other widow's pain. She shared an embrace with the widow of Trooper Martin Mack. Mack and Trooper Branden Sisca were killed in a March on I-95 by an alleged drunk driver.
"I just had to give her a hug. I didn't know what to say," Judy said, "but just hug her and it broke my heart because right now, she's not in the place I am at this point. It takes a long time to get there."
Organizers say that's the point -- to allow these families to connect, grieve and move on but never forget.
"With time, they acclimate to it and it's never going to go away," Holiday Meals for Heroes President Jimmy Binns said. "It's never going to get better, but it gets somewhat easier to handle with the passage of time."
They hold these meals every Easter, Thanksgiving and Christmas.