BELLEVUE, Neb. (KMTV) — At St. Matthew's Catholic Church in Bellevue, friends, family, and community members came together to raise money for the family of fallen Bellevue police officer, Chris Abbott.
- Bellevue police officer Chris Abbott was an active member of his community. He unexpectedly passed on Nov. 18, 2023.
- To help relieve some stress from the Abbott family, the community held a fundraiser with a silent auction, a raffle and a pasta feed.
- All the money raised from the event will go directly to the family.
BROADCAST TRANSCRIPT:
A plate of spaghetti as a way of showing care. At St. Matthew's Catholic Church in Bellevue hundreds are coming to a memorial fundraiser honoring Bellevue police officer Chris Abbott.
"You know Chris was I mean such a dear soul but honestly the guy made me laugh 24/7,” said Sunni Renner, a close friend of 30 years to the Abbott family.
"Chris is hilarious,” said Officer Jonathan Hobbs with the Bellevue Police Department.
"Chris always had a joke, always had a smile. Loved to give everybody some type of flax,” said Lori Johnson, a close friend of 15 years to the Abbott family.
Friends and co-workers describe to us who Chris was.
And while they say he was a funny guy; it was his big heart that touched so many.
"He did so much for the community, and he always brought his family with him," said Phil Davidson, the community relations coordinator for the city of Bellevue.
Officer Abbott was all about community -- his law enforcement friends, the people he met in Bellevue, and where he grew up in Glenwood Iowa.
"He meant so much to so many people. He cared about the youth sports. He was on our Glenwood baseball/softball board, he was on our basketball board,” said Johnson.
Now, the communities he gave so much to are giving back to help his family. So many people showed up, organizers had to bring out more tables and chairs.
With around 50 volunteers, 80 auction items, four raffles and food tickets, the hope is this fundraiser can help relieve some of the stress for his family.
"And I think having all this outpour of support has definitely helped them to know that they have a place and that they have so many people they can rely on to figure out who they are and how they can survive and how they can continue to be strong and keep going,” said Johnson.
All the money raised from this event will go directly to Officer Abbott's wife and two teenage sons.
