The game warden who died in last week’s plane crash in western Maine will be honored during a Thursday ceremony in Bangor.
A celebration of life for Joshua Tibbetts will be held at the Cross Insurance Center, according to the Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife.
That ceremony will begin at 10 a.m. with the arrival of uniformed law enforcement. Guests will be allowed to enter beginning around 11 a.m. after law enforcement line up in the arena.
The service itself will commence at 1 p.m. and the ceremony end around 2 p.m. after a playing of Taps, a firing salute, an aircraft flyover, the folding of the casket flag, the presentation of colors and a last call.
Tibbetts, an 18-year veteran of the Maine Warden Service, including three years as a pilot, was flying a plane to help stock fish in western Maine when he crashed about 11 a.m. on May 12 near Schoolhouse Pond in Avon.
He died in the crash.
It was the first line-of-duty death for a game warden since March 2011, when pilot Daryl Ray Gordon’s plane crashed onto a frozen Clear Lake near Ashland in Aroostook County. At least 16 game wardens have died in the line of duty in the agency’s 146-year history.
The investigation into his death is ongoing.
Gov. Janet Mills has ordered that U.S. and state flags be lowered to half-staff Thursday in honor of Tibbetts.
“Warden Joshua Tibbets devoted his career to protecting the people, wildlife, and natural resources of our state. I urge all Maine people to join me in honoring their service and their lasting contributions to our state,” Mills said in a statement.
Flags also are being lowered Thursday in honor of Gerald Talbot, the state’s first elected Black legislator and a civil rights champion who died on May 9 at age 94.
Talbot will be honored at Merrill Auditorium in Portland at 10 a.m. Thursday.
