Senator, mayor and officer are just some of the titles that the island community knew whenever they think of the public service given by Yona native Jose “Pedo” Toves Terlaje.

To his island, Terlaje made it his mission to make public safety a priority. For those who knew him personally, he was seen as so much more.

Ina Lee was a friend of the late public servant among the mourners today attending his memorial at the Guam Congress Building.

"When we first came in 1983 to Guam, my oldest brother, they call him 'Big Cho,' called Pedo as a friend, as family, we got really close as a family," she said. "They were calling us every time they have a barbeque. We would go there. We would relax together, we eat dinners together all the time."

She, her brother, along with her family remained close friends with Terlaje for the past 40 years.

Outside of the legislature, Terlaje's red coffin was draped with the Guam flag, pulled on a cart by Guam Police Department officers. A carabao was guided ahead of the group. And as they approached the doors of the building, village mayors, family and others then carried his coffin inside.

While they were friends, Terlaje was much more to Lee's family. She recalls one event where Terlaje wanted her now-late brother to accompany him during a medical check-up in the Philippines.

"When Pedo became senator, he went to my brother's cemetery, first thing," she said. "They’ll be heaven, cheering together.

Terlaje most recently served in the 36th Guam Legislature. His chief of staff, Chris Carillo, gave the eulogy.

“Sen. Pedo was a family man. Nothing meant more to him than making Guam a better place and his family," he said. "He gave it all in his heart and gave freely his wisdom, his loyalty and his sense of service.”

It was service that also included keeping in tune with his CHamoru roots and language.

“Guam is truly a special place," Carillo said. "It’s a better place because Sen. Pedo fought 76 years for Guam.”

The former Yona mayor and Guam senator also was remembered for his time as an officer with the Guam Police Department, and for being a U.S Army "Purple Heart" veteran.

Before the end of Terlaje's memorial, a special video tribute was shown. It recognized the day of his final act in office. Speaking in CHamoru, Terlaje addressed his bill that passed that would increase recruitment and retention for GovGuam employees. It also aimed to improve morale among the employees, particularly law enforcement.