Wife of slain officer Andres Mauricio Vazquez Lasso pays tribute to him ahead of funeral this week – Chicago Tribune

The wife of slain Chicago police officer Andres Mauricio Vasquez Lasso speaks in honor of her husband ahead of his funeral service scheduled for this week.

Vasquez Lasso will be remembered during a visitation on Wednesday and a funeral on Thursday. His death, his wife Milena Estepa de Vazquez wrote in a Facebook post, “leaves an irreparable hole in our hearts.”

“You have dedicated your life to what you love, going to work every day with a smile from ear to ear. Thank you for being the best husband, dog, dad, son, brother, uncle, cousin, friend,” Estepa de Vazquez wrote in Spanish.

Vasquez Lasso, 32, was shot and killed last Wednesday while responding to reports of a man chasing a woman with a gun in Gage Park. Prosecutors have charged 18-year-old Stephen Montana in Friday’s fatal shooting.

Prosecutors said Montana argued with his girlfriend, threatening to get a gun and taking her phone to prevent her from calling the police. When Vazquez Laso arrived, a chase ensued, and the officer was shot near a playground where children were hiding under a slide, prosecutors added.

Vasquez Lasso was taken to Mount Sinai Hospital, where he died. A judge ordered Montana held without bail.

[ Accused shooter of slain Chicago police Officer Andrés Mauricio Vásquez Lasso ordered held without bond ]

Friends held hands with Estepa de Vazquez as she clutched a candle during a vigil for Vasquez Lasso last Thursday.

“I wish I had hugged you tighter that Wednesday morning before my flight, kissed you more goodbye, if only I had known it was the last time I would see you alive,” she wrote in her post. “Your chivalry until the last day, your endless love, nobility, joy will always be in my memory.”

A GoFundMe to raise money for Vasquez Lasso’s family and cover the officer’s funeral expenses, more than $82,000 was raised Tuesday. The Chicago Police Memorial Fund also awarded Estepe de Vasquez $80,000, the fund said in a news release.

A private visitation for Vasquez Laso will be held on Wednesday from 3:00 PM to 8:00 PM at Blake-Lamb Funeral Home in Oak Lawn. His funeral will be held at St. Rita of Cassia Shrine Chapel in the Ashburn area at 10 a.m. Thursday before a private interment.

On Monday night, St. Bede Catholic Parish in Ashburn dedicated a mass to Vasquez Lasso and the Chicago Police Department. As the mass began, the priest lit incense in front of a portrait of the slain officer as the bell tolled and the organist played. Smoke continued to rise above the blue-framed photograph throughout the service.

Vasquez Lasso was beloved in the Scottsdale community in Ashburn, Hubbard High School Principal Angelica Altamirano told congregants during the mass. He played soccer and joked with others with his “fun and easy-going nature,” she said. She then contacted the Chicago Police Department directly.

“Unfortunately, violence is part of our society and you still accept the danger every day,” Altamirano said. “You go there to serve. We are praying for you.”

The Chicago Tribune’s Adriana Perez contributed.

jsheridan@chicagotribune.com