Southwest Airlines employee serenades mom of slain state trooper

The mother of an Arizona state trooper killed in the line of duty was treated to a heartfelt rendition of “You Raise Me Up” by a Southwest employee aboard her flight from Phoenix to Louisville, Kentucky.

Debbie Edenhofer, whose son Tyler was killed in July in a struggle on Interstate 10 in Phoenix, was aboard the plane on March 22 when Southwest operations agent Scott Wirt serenaded her with the song, popularized by Josh Groban.

Passenger Sean Warren captured the emotional tribute in a video he posted on Facebook.

In a message addressed to the airline, Warren said he was sitting comfortably in his “personal universe” when “the public address crackled and one of your flight attendants interrupted me.

“He stated that we had a mother on the flight who’s son had been killed in the line of duty as a state trooper. He then proceeded to sing her a beautiful song.”

Warren told Southwest that “we should have more interruptions like this. In fact, it is no interruption at all. It actually makes things quite clear. And it shares, in a public way, a private burden this family carries.”

To the grieving mom, he said, “‘Thank you’ seems so utterly inadequate. May you be blessed daily in your thoughts of your son’s service and sacrifice. May heaven give you in abundance what you missed here on earth.”

The young trooper was killed two months after graduating from the State Trooper Academy. His mother was reportedly traveling to a ceremony in Louisville where a bench was going to be dedicated to him.

Edenhofer and Wirt have become friends after his performance.

“It was all so real,” Edenhofer told USA Today. “I was the last one on the plane, now Scott and I are friends, as he found me on Facebook and we exchanged numbers. It’s so amazing how people come into your life. Scott is a very nice and caring person.”

Wirt said he just wanted to honor her fallen son’s legacy.

“It’s a passion of mine to be able to give back to our customers in the way I know how and that’s by singing,” Wirt told USA Today. “This particular story touched my heart and I couldn’t think of a better way to honor their son’s legacy by singing such a wonderful song. We never know why someone is traveling but when we do we want to be there for them.”