Some said Mickese J. Bostic’s heart remained after the memorial service in his honor.

The memorial to the juvenile detention officer who was killed in an Easter Sunday case of domestic violence was punctuated by a balloon release. After a countdown, family and friends let go of balloons, which drifted east.

Except one. That lone, heart-shaped balloon hung at the apex of the gable atop the center’s awning.

“And it was a heart,” observed Monique Grier, executive director of the G. Ross Bell Juvenile Detention Center. “Others were stars or ordinary balloons, but that’s the heart. That was his heart.

“He was the heart of this place. He really was,” Grier continued. “For him to hang around and just make sure everybody’s good, to watch over the last few seconds (with) his personal family, his biological family, his work family. That was his nature.”

The nature of Bostic, affectionately known as “Big B,” was to make light-hearted comments that would make people laugh at themselves.

“He had an incredible way of being a shining light,” Daniel Perry said. “When he walked in a room, smiles followed.”

Colleagues and friends repeated that he was likely to crack jokes, especially to those about whom he truly cared. One said he let them know he cared about them but “he’d crack you at the same time.”

And no one was off limits.

“If he didn’t give you a hard time, he didn’t really care for you,” Grier said. “If you only knew him to be serious and matter of fact, you probably were not in good favor. But that was few and far in between. I honestly don’t even know anyone that he didn’t have that type of rapport, at least a little bit, a little bit of banter.

“He was gonna give you a tough time,” she said, “but for some of us … got it a whole lot more than others.”

Three of Bostic’s five children were at the ceremony, which featured a life-sized cutout of the juvenile detention officer. Each child received a Build-A-Bear during the event.

“Teddy bears are comforting to children, and I wanted nothing more than to comfort his children,” Grier said. “We took our time to dress the bears, to theme the bears. We got one Paw Patrol – Officer Bear – for the smallest child, and Miami Heat basketball attire for the other because his father love basketball so much. And, for the baby girl, a princess outfit with a crown.”

Jefferson County Commissioner Sheila Tyson spoke during the event, noting how helpful Bostic was in escorting her to her car. Marvis Young spoke on behalf of Commissioner Lashunda Scales; he previously worked at the detention center for three years.

“Being that she’s (Scales is) a commissioner and this actually happened in her district, she responded,” Young said. “We know that it takes a village and this is what it takes.”

Grier said another event is planned to honor Bostic.

“The staff came up with Miles for Mickese,” she said. “During the next Domestic Violence Awareness Month, we will form a 5K walk/run and we will launch Miles for Mickese. We will do that in his honor, and we will do it for domestic violence awareness.”