GREENSBORO, N.C. (WGHP) -- Before Officer Michael Horan served with the Greensboro Police Department, he was a servant, a coworker and a friend to many. Michael Lawrence says Horan was more than his title. Those who knew Horan called him Junior. Greensboro remembers, honors Officer Michael Horan; ‘As sad as it can get’ "When you sit next to somebody for seven hours a day, you get to know them pretty well. We hit it off. We bonded, and we were friends since that first day," Lawrence said. Horan joined Beach Haven Beach Patrol in Beach Haven, New Jersey, in June 1995. He was a lieutenant, lifeguard and instructor. But Lawrence, the former chief of the patrol, says Horan always went out of his way to make his peers smile. "If things were intense, he would start firing off entire dialogues of movies ... just to lift the mood ... It was amazing," Lawrence said. Horan served 18 years in the United States Coast Guard and was an active reservist. "He would come back and help during his free time and help because he loved it so much," Lawrence said. His next stop was the GPD. The officer used what he learned in New Jersey to save a father and son from rip currents in Emerald Isle and won a lifesaving award for his heroic efforts in 2019. Lawrence says he kept up with his friend, and their last conversation was over the phone on Saturday. "Believe it or not, we were talking about how the new year is coming, and we're one year closer to our 30-year anniversary of being friends. A lot of marriages don't last nearly that long," Lawerence said. Two days later, Horan, who dedicated nearly seven years of service to Greensboro, was shot and killed at a Food Lion on Lawndale Drive. While the community mourns Horan's passing, Lawrence hopes more people will strive to be like him. "That's what I'm going to miss: Calling him and having him lift my spirits. There's a few people in the world that are capable of that," Lawrence said.