Fallen Boston firefighter Bobby Kilduff Jr. remembered at funeral: "He's the hero everyone says he is"

Fallen Boston firefighter Bobby Kilduff Jr. was remembered as a hero during his funeral Monday, more than a week after his death in the line of duty.

Thousands of firefighters were at the funeral Mass at the Cathedral of the Holy Cross on Washington Street in the South End for the somber funeral. 

After the services, an American flag was draped on Kilduff's casket and it was placed on a firetruck outside the church while a sea of firefighters paid tribute.

A procession then brought Kilduff's casket past his firehouse on the way to the cemetery. 

Kilduff leaves behind a daughter, Hanna Jane Kilduff, a son, Mason Kilduff, and his longtime partner, Jess Spruell. 

"He loved his city, he loved his community, and he loved his job. He used to say that the only thing he loved more than being a firefighter was being our dad," Hanna Kilduff said. "To put it simply, my dad was someone to everyone, and everything to me."

Mason Kilduff remembered daily talks with his father about Boston sports, as well as life lessons.

"He always said he wanted me to be better than him. But I think if I can be half as good as him, we'll be in good shape," Mason Kilduff said. "My dad is my hero. He's the hero everyone says he is. And I'll miss him forever. He taught us all how to live, and now he's taught us how to die." 

During the Mass, Spruell's children, Seren and Brynn, served as gift bearers. Spruell said Kilduff loved her children as if they were his own.

"BK didn't love halfway. If you were his, you felt it," Spruell said. "I think that's why this loss is so impossible. And as difficult as today is, there is something that has been impossible not to notice – the incredible amount of love we have surrounding us right now."

Boston Mayor Michelle Wu was among the speakers at the services.

"When one of our protectors lays down their life in service to our city, every heart in Boston feels the pain of that loss. Last Saturday night, Bobby Kilduff answered the call. He gave his life making sure his neighbors got another day," Wu said. 

Sam Dillon, the President of Boston Firefighters IAFF Local 718, said Kilduff made a major impact on the Boston Fire Department.

"Losing any firefighter who has committed their lives to such noble intent is tragic, because it tears and shreds at the fiber of what we represent and what others believe in us for," Dillon said. "Losing a firefighter like Bobby Kilduff is devastating, because no one embodied or believed in our principles, our cause and our mission more than he did."

Kilduff died Saturday, May 23 after falling from the third floor of a home in Dorchester while fighting a fire there. He was 53 years old. Kilduff was a third-generation Boston firefighter and a U.S. Marine Corps veteran. 

"While Bobby was worthy of the title hero many times over, he would never want you to call him that. He would prefer to be known as a great dad, a great partner, a mentor, a brother firefighter, a friend. He was truly a light in this world," Boston Fire Commissioner Rodney Marshall said during the funeral.  

Kilduff's family remembered the firefighter of 24 years as a family man who adored his children, saying his "favorite job was being a dad."

A nonprofit organization is making sure that his family is supported. Tunnel to Towers, a nonprofit that began after the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, will pay off the mortgage on Kilduff's home and education expenses for his children.

Kilduff worked out of the Rescue Co. 2 firehouse in Roxbury. He will be buried at Fairview Cemetery in Hyde Park, according to his obituary.

Kilduff's wake was held on Sunday, attended by thousands.