News Nearby: Luminary Memorial Service Planned for Athens Officer Killed in Line of Duty in 2011

It was a crime that has continued to reverberate through the Athens community: an ex-con allegedly shot one officer at point blank range and then shot and killed another as he ran from the scene of a crime.

The dead officer was 33-yer-old Elmer "Buddy" Christian, described as a kind man with a loving wife and young family who thought about becoming a chaplin and tried to help everyone. He was shot in 2011. The man who confessed to shooting him hasn't yet been tried, though he has been in court several times.

Athens Patch reports Christian's family has moved into their dream home in Madison County, and his wife has continued her work at the University of Georgia Vet School. His children are growing taller.

On Friday, March 22, there will be a luminary memorial service rom 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. for Christian at Evergreen Memorial Park on Atlanta Highway, where he is buried. The public is invited to light a luminary in his memory. You can reserve your luminary in advance online at www.buddychristianfoundation.org.

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