At his funeral Wednesday, others described state Trooper Michael Pahira Jr. as “a quiet public servant,” “a damn good cop” and “a heck of a young man.”
Chris Graf, a fellow trooper, took their high school’s stage with a different perspective of his friend since seventh grade.
As he strolled through memories, speaking as if Pahira were there, Graf sniffed more than once. Twice, he wiped away tears.
“Mike, you were literally the big brother I never had,” said Graf, a state police corporal.
Paying final respects
Family, friends, police officers from across the country and numerous government officials, including Gov. Josh Shapiro, gathered Wednesday inside North Schuylkill Junior/Senior High School to pay respects and for a last goodbye to Pahira.
The trooper, whose job entailed safety inspections of large vehicles, died at age 44 a week earlier when a tractor-trailer struck him on Interstate 81 in Schuylkill County.
Pahira was inspecting another tractor-trailer.
State police charged Michael Bon, 33, a Haitian national living in Brockton, Mass., and in the United States without authorization, with homicide by vehicle and other counts. Bon’s license expired the day of the crash.
On Wednesday, no one mentioned Bon or the politics surrounding his presence in the U.S. Instead, eulogists focused on Pahira.
“Who I am is not important. The man I'm about to speak about is,” Graf said.
The 'big brother'
Serving as Pahira’s younger “brother” proved rewarding and challenging, he said.
“I'll never forget our younger years, when you watched over me in so many ways, protecting me and guiding me through the years. I'll also never forget the times you picked on me like a little brother, as well,” he said.
Pahira and Graf met in the high school where Pahira starred as an offensive and defensive lineman in football — he’s in North Schuylkill’s Hall of Fame — and won a District 11 title in wrestling.
“Permit me to call him Mikey, because that's what I always called him, and that's who he is to me,” said Rick Edwards, Pahira’s wrestling coach at North Schuylkill.
He outlined Pahira’s athletic awards and swore his wrestler would have at least finished second in his weight class as a senior if not for a knee injury.
“No question in my mind,” Edwards said.
Shapiro said the Pennsylvania Interscholastic Athletic Association recognizes Pahira’s pin of one opponent in seven seconds as the fastest pin in state high school wrestling history.
“He surely was a force to reckon with on the mat and in the classroom,” Edwards said. “Mikey was a very good student.”
He said Pahira’s parents plan to establish a wrestling scholarship at the school in their son’s name.
“It's a heck of a young man, and of course his life has been cut too short. We love you, Mikey,” Edwards said.
Always helping others
Acting State Police Commissioner George Bivens said Pahira “was the friend everyone turned to when they needed help, whether it was changing a flat tire or stepping in to keep a fist out of their face from a rival.”
Bivens said Pahira’s sister, Jen Buggy “credits much of her toughness to her brother.” As siblings growing up, they battled as siblings often do but developed “an unbroken bond.”
“When she began dating Damian, her future husband, she was relieved that Mikey immediately accepted him,” Bivens said. “In fact, Mikey jokingly warned Jen not to mess this one up, using a few specific four-letter words to drive the point home.”
When his friends gathered for trips to cigar bars, Pahira often volunteered as the designated driver.
“While they enjoyed their bourbon and cigars, he was perfectly content with his cranberry juice, making sure everyone got home safely. In return, every Thursday, his friends treated him to a tomahawk steak, because for Mikey, an ordinary steak was just an appetizer,” the acting commissioner said.
Pahira could lift a couch by himself, Bivens said.
“I've seen him lift, move, carry, shove things around that should have required a forklift,” said Bill McHale, a former trooper and Pahira’s uncle. “He was a big guy, and that is certainly true, but he was a better man. And the biggest thing about him was his heart.”
A hunger to help mom
In high school, Graf said he and Pahira often visited each other’s homes where their moms sometimes asked if they were hungry.
“Graf, you're a little skinny, you need to eat,” Patti Pahira would say.
More recently, Pahira worried about his mother the same way. He loved cooking and cooked for his parents after he moved back in with them to care for his mother, who’s suffering from cancer.
“I told him how impressed I was by that gesture. He simply stated, ‘My parents needed me,’” McHale said. “That's Mike. There are times when things happen, and ... you have to wonder why. And this is certainly one of those times.”
Pahira was known for modifying cars so they could go faster, but as a trooper Graf said they would “often text each other our high speeds for the day on the radar” tracking speeding drivers.
“Unknown to us, this would be a job you love doing so very much,” he said. “I remember countless times after you got the full-time spot, I'd ask, ‘How's the job?’
“You'd simply reply, ‘Life is good, brother.’”
Editor's note: This story is based on a state presentation of the funeral online because the Pahira family asked media to remain outside where the funeral services took place.
