‘We want to tell his story’: Family remembers patriarch, former Cocoa councilman killed in home last week

COCOA, Fla. — The Wallen family wants their patriarch, James, to be remembered for how he lived, not how he died.

Wallen, 75, worked as a teacher for 37 years and twice served as a Cocoa City councilman. He was found dead in his home after a seemingly random attack and burglary last Friday.

“He loved life. He just thought everything was the best,” his wife, Lucinda Wallen, said. “If we went to Melbourne, he would say that was the best trip ever.”

READ: Man arrested after killing former Cocoa city councilman, 75, during burglary, police say

“We want to tell his story,” said Michele Wallen, his daughter-in-law. “We want ... the focus on him not so much how he died because he was an amazing person and the world … it’s not the same without him in it, especially for us, but I think the community in Cocoa also.”

Lucinda and James Wallen would have celebrated their 52nd wedding anniversary this past Monday. Police said his wedding band was stolen and pawned off following the attack.

“It’s random, and if there’s an explanation, it’s beyond our comprehension,” his son, Brett Wallen, said.

The family said they are struggling to come to terms with what happened in the couple’s home on Manor Drive.

“You can accept a heart attack,” Lucinda Wallen said. “At least with an illness, you have time to adjust, maybe. But this? Just murder. The last thing you ever expect is to have someone you know and love murdered in cold blood on a Friday afternoon in their own home. You just never think about that.”

Video: Man arrested after killing former Cocoa City Council member, 75, during burglary, police say The man suspected of killing a former Cocoa City Council member in his home Friday evening is in custody, Cocoa police said.

Top Stories:

1. Milwaukee Bucks boycott Game 5 against Orlando Magic in protest of Jacob Blake shooting, reports say

2. Tracking Laura: located south of Lake Charles; coastal winds, water levels increasing in Louisiana, Texas

3. Miami police officer’s wife dies after getting trapped in back of his police SUV