Jim Bzoskie was more than the pastor at Cornerstone Bible Church in Hastings, Minnesota; he also selflessly donated his time, those close to him said.
The 76-year-old volunteered as a chaplain for 47 years with the Dakota County Sheriff’s Office.
“He didn’t do this to pad his pocketbook, he did it because he had a big heart,” Dakota County Sheriff Joe Leko said.
“Every Tuesday, typically, he would come into the jail, do a bible study for our inmate population,” Jacob Schak, a program sergeant at the Dakota County jail, said.
Bzoskie lent a helping hand to deputies and families experiencing a lost loved one, by their side during the darkest of times, Leko said.
“Some of the difficult things we’ve gone through with the tragedy in Burnsville, losing three first responders. We’ve had suicides in our own office that we’ve had to maneuver, and to not have Jim next to us, I couldn’t imagine going through those things without him,” Leko said.
The sheriff said Bzoskie’s final moments were spent helping free a motorist who’d spun out in the snow outside his church. It was just after that act of kindness last Friday, Bzoskie died, likely from a heart attack, his daughter, Sarah Lindner, said.
Bzoskie had been inside the church preparing gift bags for inmates in the county jail.
“He was helping people until those very last moments. I had a friend tell me he served right up to the bell, and I was like ‘I love that,’ and he would have wanted that,” Lindner said.
Bzoskie also worked as a chaplain for the Hastings police and fire departments.
He was an avid Wild fan, a season ticket holder for at least two decades, Lindner said, and a Minnesota State Fair fanatic, who never missed a day.
The holidays were his favorite time of year, Lindner said.
“His last words were ‘Merry Christmas,’ and we just see that as such a beautiful thing, knowing that dad loved Christmas and he’s going to have the best Christmas ever,” Lindner said.
Jason Rantala
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