NY Yankees honor fallen HPD officer

Imagine the pleasant surprise at one local florist when an order came over the wire service from the New York Yankees for Officer Benjamin Deen.

"We were all touched that Hattiesburg, MS was on the minds and hearts of those so far away." stated Judy Strickland, Owner of University Florist. "Our designers immediately came up with a theme and decided that we would acknowledge the fact that it was from the Yankees, so we added a New York Yankees ball cap into the sympathy design along with birds of paradise, sunflowers, curly willow, high magic roses, belles of Ireland and much more...University Florist always thinks 'outside of the box' and the New York Yankees gave us the opportunity to honor a fallen officer in a very special way."

Funeral services for Officer Deen will be Thursday at 11 a.m. at Temple Baptist Church. Burial will follow at the Military Baptist Church Cemetery in Sumrall.