David Wynn remembered as city readies for thousands at funeral

The small community of St. Albert is bracing for thousands of visitors this weekend in advance of the funeral for slain RCMP constable David Wynn.

Mayor Nolan Crouse said he expects anywhere from 5,000 and 7,000 people to attend.

Those numbers are based on a huge flood of condolences that Mounties say have steadily poured in from across Alberta, Canada and around the world after Wynn was shot in the head during a routine license checking operation.

The public regimental funeral will be held at 2 p.m. MST on Monday at Servus Place arena in St. Albert.

Uniformed law enforcement officers from across North America will march through the streets before the funeral. 

Crouse is working with RCMP and Const. Wynn’s family to make sure their wishes are met.

“We want to make sure we take time to pay full respects to what he’s done for our community and what he’s done for Canada in general,” Crouse said.

Meanwhile, city staff are preparing the streets and sidewalks along the procession route, while citizens do what they can to help.

“Everybody comes together at a time like this,” said Pauline McCormick, a volunteer with the Catholic Women’s League of Holy Family Parish.

She and her group spent hours this week making hundreds of white ribbon pins to wear at the funeral.

The ribbons are part of a grassroots movement dubbed United in Light, where residents are encouraged to leave their porch lights on and hang white ribbons around the city as a symbol of peace and safety. 

McCormick estimates at least 1,000 fellow parish members plan to wear a white ribbon to the funeral on Monday.

“Grandmothers, mothers, we are all standing here in solidarity,” she said.

“It’s an outward sign of how we feel deeply in our hearts.”

Their efforts join several other campaigns to help Const. Wynn's relatives, including three local hockey fundraisers and a family support fund announced Thursday by the RCMP Veterans Association's Edmonton Division.