CHICAGO (CBS) -- Chicago Police Officer Luis Huesca was remembered Monday as a rock who guided friends through storms of life – wise, courageous, dedicated. His family and friends said he was larger than life, a good friend, and humble with a tender heart.

The typically busy stretch of South Western Avenue outside St. Rita of Cascia Shrine Chapel was quiet Monday morning. Instead of tractor-trailers hauling freight, the thoroughfare was lined with scores of police vehicles from cities and towns across northern Illinois.