Samuel StanleyJERSEYVILLE - Young Samuel Stanley may not have realized it, but when he unbuckled his car seat and stood next to his family's car as the Ronald and Billy Plummer funeral procession passed through Jerseyville, he touched a lot of people.

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Samuel is a Jerseyville Community Middle School sixth-grader. Jerseyville Sgt. Matt Schultz snapped Samuel's photo while working the procession and provided it to Crawford Funeral Home to publish.

“This kid amazes us every day,” his mother Sara Stanley said Monday. “We were leaving from a soccer game and he asked, ‘Mom, is this a funeral?’ I said, ‘yes bud.’ He unbuckled his seat and stepped out and stood at attention with his hand over his heart as the procession proceeded.”

Sara said she and her husband, Jake, could not be more proud of their son.

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“We do not know the family personally, but living in a small town, we are acquaintances of some family members. For his Dad and I, we wanted to make sure we instilled respect into him at an early age and continue to make sure we taught him to show respect in every situation. I think as parents, we often wonder if we are raising respectful, well-rounded kids, and then you see your child do something like this, and you know you have succeeded."

When Sara showed Samuel the Crawford Funeral Home Facebook post, he said, “Mom, I didn’t do it for recognition. I did it because it was the right thing to do and I didn’t know them but they obviously meant something to someone. I would want someone to show me the same respect.”

Crawford Funeral Home handled the funeral arrangements for the Rockbridge brothers, who were killed tragically last week.

Sara added: “Just by his response, we could not be more proud of him!!”

Crawford Funeral home issued this comment about young Samuel: “It is reassuring to see young people like this out there and that parents are bringing up their children right. This was something the family noticed and appreciated. The Plummer and Huff families have endured way more tragedy than most, but have always been the most polite and considerate group of people, regardless of their situation. After the service, as we traveled to their final resting place at Maple Lawn Cemetery in Fidelity, nearly every car along the way stopped alongside the highway to pay respect and acknowledge the magnitude of the Plummer families loss.

“We would like to thank Officer Schultz, along with this young man and his parents, for showing us all that there are still many wonderful people out there, especially in our little corner of the world that we are lucky enough to call home.”

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