Mourners gather for paramedic's funeral

OTSEGO, Mich. (WOOD) - Mourners gathered Wednesday afternoon for funeral services for American Medical Response paramedic and Otsego Fire Capt. Steve Stevenson.

After a service at St. Margaret's Catholic Church, community members and emergency vehicles from five fire departments and ambulance services lined the funeral procession route to the City of Otsego Fire Station.

Stevenson's casket was carried on a classic old-style fire truck, and followed by family vehicles and trucks from the Otsego Fire Department.

A brief ceremony was held at the station, where the fire bell was rung as uniformed firefighters stood at attention.

The casket made its way to the funeral home, which is about a block away.

=== Photos: Paramedic Steve Stevenson funeral ===

Stevenson died in New York Dec. 2 after 13 hours of surgery to try and repair an aortic aneurysm. He was 52.

He was a full-time supervisor for AMR in Grand Rapids and an on-call firefighter for Otsego -- a department he has been affiliated with since 1988.

"Steve's been a huge asset to the department," said Otsego Fire Capt. Brandon Weber. "He served for over 25 years with our organization. He was instrumental many, many years ago in getting up and running our EMS first responder program and making sure we continue that to this day. On top of that, he's been a great friend. Most of us had him as an instructor in our Firefighter 1 and 2 Program. He's been a great friend and mentor to most of us during our time on the department."

Stevenson leaves behind a wife and a daughter.