Calvary Cemetery

Mark A. Ouimet was a Marine, father, husband and dog lover. He was also a celebrated member of the Hampden County Sheriff's Department, the award-winning law enforcement organization that has served as a model for correctional institutions across the country.Ouimet was laid to rest Saturday at Calvary Cemetery in Chicopee after a funeral Mass at St. Cecilia Parish in Wilbraham, where he and his wife raised a family and were communicants of the Main Street church.Ouimet, 51, collapsed while out for a walk on Easter Sunday. He was revived and taken to Baystate Medical Center in Springfield, where he died Monday. "He was a one-of-a-kind guy," Hampden County Sheriff Nick Cocchi said of Ouimet, an employee of the Sheriff's Department since 1996 and leader of its K-9 unit. His wife, Tracie, and two adult sons, Alex and Josh, were able to say their last goodbye to Ouimet before he passed away at the hospital. Ouimet's four-legged K-9 partner, Dalka, also had a chance to bid adieu to his handler, jumping onto his hospital bed for a final petting.Born in Springfield to the late Richard and Margaret (Suprena) Ouimet, Mark Ouimet was a 1984 graduate of Cathedral High School. He served in the U.S. Marines and was president of Local 248 of the International Brotherhood of Correctional Officers.Ouimet was also captain of the Sheriff's Department hockey team and last year was chosen to head the department's K-9 unit. Over the years he was a youth baseball and soccer coach, as well as an active volunteer at the Thomas J. O'Connor Animal Control & Adoption Center in Springfield.During his 20-plus-year career in law enforcement, Ouimet received numerous awards for professional excellence and distinguished service, including certifications in firearms instruction, counterterrorism, explosive and bomb threat recognition, fire safety and tactical emergency medical service training.Aside from his wife and sons, Ouimet is survived by his b... (MassLive.com)