HEFLIN — Korean War veteran and local pastor James Connell had one dying wish: to have his funeral with a horse-drawn caisson and a riderless horse. His family and friends made that come true Sunday.

Horses were everything to the 76-year-old who died Thursday, said son Cheyenne Connell, who guided the riderless horse with boots turned backwards.

"That was his life," he said.

His father, a U.S. Army sergeant, pastored seven area churches, including Liberty Hill Methodist Church.

Glenn Price, one of his parishioners there, won't forget him.

"He's a friend if I ever had one," Price told Cheyenne through tears Sunday after the funeral at Heflin Memorial Garden.

Price, of Hollis Crossroads, and his wife were both baptized by Connell 22 years ago.

"He was just an outgoing person and willing to be a friend to everybody," said Price.

Vickey Davis, Connell's daughter, said her dad called the family around his bed before his death to plan the funeral.

"He just always had horses and wagons," she said, adding he also traded horses.

Cheyenne Connell, she said, orchestrated the funeral plans, and friends of the community helped put it together.

"What we wanted to do was to do daddy's last request," Davis said. "It was very touching to us."