Craig Pepin - Husband, father of 4

South Windsor, Conn. (WTNH) - Craig Pepin was one of 8 killed by a gunman at a Manchester beer distributor on Tuesday.

Pepin, 60, of South Windsor, attended St. Margaret Mary Church and is remembered fondly by Father Daniel Sullivan.

"He never missed Mass on weekends, he went to church all the time. He's come to daily Mass every now and then. He was a very spiritual man," recalled Father Sullivan.

Pepin, his wife and four kids joined St. Margaret Mary’s a couple decades ago. They were all active in the church and in the community. In his spare time, Craig coached soccer, little league and youth basketball. The rest of the time, he was a truck driver for Hartford Distributors. He was 60 and thinking about retiring, but he was there Tuesday when Omar Thornton started shooting. What he did next has people calling him a hero.

“Craig Pepin saw him coming and told the guys to run and he kind of protected them and the guy went right up and shot him in the head. The man was a great man," said Father Sullivan.

That’s one of the stories Father Sullivan will tell at tonight’s service. He will also encourage everyone to support the families of the victims any way they can. For the Pepin family, he says they have the ultimate consolation of knowing Craig is in a better place.

“They have a saint in heaven. They can pray to him. They can pray to him now," Father Sullivan said.

A memorial service for all the victim's will be held tonight at 7pm at St. Margaret Mary Church on Hayes Road in South Windsor.