GREENSBORO, N.C. (WGHP) — Before Officer Michael Horan served with the Greensboro Police Department, he was a servant, a coworker and a friend to many.
Michael Lawrence says Horan was more than his title. Those who knew Horan called him Junior.
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“When you sit next to somebody for seven hours a day, you get to know them pretty well. We hit it off. We bonded, and we were friends since that first day,” Lawrence said.
Horan joined Beach Haven Beach Patrol in Beach Haven, New Jersey, in June 1995.
He was a lieutenant, lifeguard and instructor. But Lawrence, the former chief of the patrol, says Horan always went out of his way to make his peers smile.
“If things were intense, he would start firing off entire dialogues of movies … just to lift the mood … It was amazing,” Lawrence said.
Horan served 18 years in the United States Coast Guard and was an active reservist.
“He would come back and help during his free time and help because he loved it so much,” Lawrence said.