JACKSONVILLE, Fla. -- Family members, friends, and fellow deputies said their final farewell on Tuesday to a Jacksonville sheriff's officer who was killed last week in a motorcycle crash.

Officer Jerry Beckmeyer, 32, was off-duty, riding his motorcycle on Butler Boulevard when two cars in front of him crashed. He was unable to stop and skidded across the road.

Beckmeyer was rushed to the hospital, but doctors could not save him.

Those who knew Beckmeyer said the officer loved his family, his job and riding his motorcycle. They said if he were alive today, he would be either riding his motorcycle or spending time with his family.

Beckmeyer's colleagues filled much of Fruit Cove Baptist Church, with their badges covered with black in honor of the fallen officer.

After the memorial service, a string of more than 135 police cars led by Beckmeyer's motorcycle squad and followed by his friends and family members pulled into the officer's final resting place in Ponte Vedra.

"He was a very trusted and loyal employee. He worked very hard. Jerry always volunteered for extra assignments whatever they might be and no matter what time of the morning they were," said Mike Beckmann of the Jacksonville Sheriff's Office.

Beckmeyer worked for the JSO for eight years, and survived by his mother, father, son, and a pregnant wife.

"His son, Kyle, greatly will miss his dad. His family really was his first love and he always spoke about them. He was just excited to be around them," Beckmann said.

Anyone wanting to make donations to help Beckmeyer's family can do so at the Fraternal Order of Police at 5546 Beach Blvd. in Jacksonville, FL, 32207.