‘A servant’s heart’: Mom of deceased Myrtle Beach cop talks ahead of vigil
Jacob Hancher’s mom wanted Myrtle Beach to know that her family feels their prayers, the hugs, the love.
“We feel the community wrapping around us right now,” Suzanne Williams said.
Hancher, a Myrtle Beach police officer, died earlier this week while responding to a domestic call on Yaupon Drive and 14th Avenue South. He was a patrolman who served almost a year on duty.
“He has a servant’s heart,” Williams told The Sun News hours before a vigil in Hancher’s memory. “He served the community in so many ways.”
Before becoming a patrolman, Hancher—who many described as a gentle giant at 6-feet-5-inches tall—served four years as a community service officer with Myrtle Beach police. Williams said she wanted to make the community knew the family appreciated the support. Blue ribbons have been placed around the community, at the family’s request, to honor Hancher.
“We’re very overwhelmed,” Williams said. “When we see those blue ribbons we know they are prayers for us.”
Hundreds of Hancher’s friends and community members gathered at St. James Catholic Church in Conway Wednesday evening for a candlelight vigil. Hancher was a member at the church. Vigil attendees shared a few stories about Hancher and said prayers during the event.
Along the road to the church, residents tied blue ribbons to mailboxes to recognize the fallen officer. Attendees lit candles sang songs during the hour-long ceremony.
Some of the people who gathered on lawn chairs in the parking lot attended a mission trip with Hancher in 2017.
“He was always smiling,” said Tim Loehr, who was on the trip to Honduras.
He was the peacekeeper and was the hardest worker on the trip, said Lori Videan who was also on the trip. He mixed the most cement out of everyone there and was always playing soccer with kids at the nearby school. He was mature for his age, they said.
“He was one of the kindest human beings I’ve ever met,” Videan said.
After the trip, Hancher wanted to return to Honduras but was training for the South Carolina police academy, said Taylor Monahan.
“He was one of those people who clicked with everybody,” she said . “He selflessly gave of himself to help others...it came naturally to him.”
This story was originally published October 7, 2020 at 7:39 PM.
