Why Flags Are Half-Mast Today, This Weekend

“Never sweat the small stuff,” the late former Salt Lake City Mayor Ted Wilson would often tell family and friends. He is among those being honored over the coming days, following their recent deaths.

Four state governors have ordered flags flown at half-staff before Monday.

Under the U.S. Flag Code, national flags can be flown at half-staff after the death of a serving or former official or serving member of the armed forces of a state, territory or possession of the United States.

Flags in the U.S. are on occasions lowered for non-Americans, such as to mark the death of former British Prime Minister Winston Churchill in 1965.

Indiana

Fort Wayne honors “wonderful” Mayor Tom Henry on Friday, when his funeral takes place following his death on March 28 from stomach cancer. He was 72 years old.

A U.S. Army veteran and insurance agency CEO, Henry was the city’s longest-serving mayor. He was first elected in 2008 and entered his fifth term in June 2022.

Henry’s funeral procession on Friday morning passes over the Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Memorial Bridge and the Veterans Memorial Bridge, which both opened during his mayorship.

Indiana Governor Eric J. Holcomb has ordered flags at half-staff across Allen County until sunset in remembrance.

“I love what he’s done for Fort Wayne,” city resident Debbie Magsig told local TV station WPTA on Thursday at his viewing. “Eleven years ago, I sold my home in Arlington Park to move downtown because I knew his vision was so perfect as for what has happened. We’ve really lost a wonderful mayor.”

Revealing his cancer diagnosis in February, Henry thanked residents “for the love you have conveyed to us” in relation to the death of his wife, Cindy, a month earlier.

He wrote: “My promise to you all still stands — to move this city forward, together.”

Utah

Utah Governor Spencer J. Cox has ordered that flags be lowered on Saturday to remember “dedicated public servant” and former Salt Lake City Mayor Ted Wilson.

Wilson was mayor from 1976 to 1985, winning election three times, narrowly losing a bid for governor in 1988.

He died aged 84 on Thursday due to heart failure and Parkinson’s disease.

“As the eternal optimist, he loved people and they loved him back,” his family said in a statement.

“We are honored that his memory will live on in the legacy he built as Salt Lake City mayor, through the countless people he has taught and mentored, his decades of humanitarian service, and his mountaineering accomplishments.

“Ted’s lifetime priorities were his family and public service. He built and nurtured many deep and meaningful friendships and would remind us all to ‘never sweat the small stuff.'”

Ohio

Corrections officer Lieutenant Rodney Osbornedied after being shot in the chest Tuesday at a prison training facility’s firing range in Orient.

Ohio Department of Rehabilitation and Correction director Annette Chambers-Smith said it “appears to be a tragic accident.” The 13-year veteran of the ODRC was “beloved amongst his peers,” Chambers-Smith said.

The shooting is under investigation by Ohio State Highway Patrol.

Last week, Osborne was named Southern Ohio Correctional Facility’s Employee of the Year.

“If there was ever a perfect man, it was him,” Osborne’s cousin, Pamela Osborne, told The Columbus Dispatch of the 43-year-old officer who leaves behind three children and a wife.

Ohio Governor Mike DeWine has ordered that all state and U.S. flags should be flown at half-mast in his honor from April 10 until his funeral, scheduled for April 12.

Former State Senator Carolyn Jean Prentiss will be honored on the day of her funeral, April 13, Governor DeWine has also ordered.

Prentiss’ Ohio State House biography states that she was “well known for her diligent work ethic, well-versed oration, and efforts to represent those voices that are seldom heard in government.”

Paying tribute, her former senate colleague, ex-State House Leader Chris Redfern, recalled Prentiss’ “contagious” laugh and “legendary” holiday parties.

Prentiss was first elected to the Ohio Senate in 1998, was elected senate minority leader in December 2004, and represented the 21st Senate District until December 2006.

She played a key role in securing funding for all-day, everyday kindergarten and reduced class sizes, among other notable achievements.

The order said flags are to be lowered upon all public buildings and grounds throughout Cuyahoga County and at the Ohio Statehouse, Vern Riffe Center, and Rhodes Tower from sunrise to sunset.

Maryland

Maryland continues to mourn and remember those killed in the collapse of Baltimore’s Francis Scott Key Bridge on March 26.

Six out of eight construction workers filling potholes on the bridge were killed when a 985-foot-long cargo ship rammed the bridge early that morning.

Divers recovered the bodies of three workers: 35-year-old Alejandro Hernandez Fuentes, Dorlian Ronial Castillo Cabrera, 26, and Maynor Suazo Sandoval, 38. Funerals for Hernandez Fuentes and Castillo Cabrera are scheduled this weekend.

Three others presumed dead, Carlos Hernandez, José Mynor López and Miguel Luna, have yet to be recovered.

In an April 5 release, the White House said: “This tragedy has had a devastating impact on the victims and their families, and as the President has said, our prayers are with them. The victims were fathers, husbands, and friends in their homes, work, and communities.”

Flags will remain at half-staff until further notice, Maryland Governor Wes Moore has ordered.