Some 1,600 people attended a Catholic Mass at The Mission in Vacaville to remember Walker, who was killed Saturday in a traffic accident in the Santa Cruz Mountains.

"In the line of duty, Michael Walker on New Year's Eve went out to serve the community and that night it cost him his life," said Vincent O'Reilly, pastor of Saint Joseph's Catholic Church in Vacaville.

Walker, 47, was killed when a car lost control on a rain-soaked state Highway 17, where Walker was placing flares at a crash scene. He was pronounced dead an hour after the 11 p.m. accident. Also killed in the crash was driver Jerry Blinkenberg, 31, of Boulder Creek.

CHP Commissioner Mike Brown said the last couple of months have been tough on the CHP family because it has lost four officers.

"But this one, for me, is especially hard," Brown said. "When Mike decided to work New Year's Eve, he was there to be with his people. He was a dedicated public servant, a road dog and a leader."

Walker's father-in-law called him "a cop's cop."

Steve Walker said his brother Michael was never aggressive in a family of four boys, calling him a "true gentle giant." He remembered his brother as a fan of the San Francisco 49ers and Giants who had a passion for camping.

Walker's wife, Michelle, did not speak at the service but her sister read a statement saying Michelle knew something was wrong when her husband didn't call at midnight to give his love and say "Happy New Year."

"We never doubted his love," she wrote. "He never hesitated to show it. He was the first to say 'I'm falling in love with you' when we were dating. He ended every phone conversation by saying 'I love you."'

The Mass lasted a little more than an hour, followed by a 21-gun salute. A bugler played "Taps" and helicopters flew overhead in missing-man formation. The Contra Costa County sheriff's bagpipers played "Amazing Grace."

Walker, who lived in Vacaville, will be cremated, a CHP spokesman said. In addition to his wife, he leaves a 9-year-old daughter, Amanda, and 7-year-old Jennifer.

Meanwhile, the family of the other man who died in the crash that killed Walker is planning his funeral for Monday.

Jerry Blinkenberg worked as a computer consultant for a security company in Sacramento, his father George Blinkenberg said today. Blinkenberg had just switched careers after spending nearly three years working as a technical engineer in Russia, Germany and Portugal, his father said. Before traveling around Europe, Blinkenberg had worked as a technical engineer at Lockheed Martin Corp.

Described as a fun and loving man who enjoyed hunting, fishing and riding motorcycles, Blinkenberg leaves behind his father, mother, two brothers and two sisters.

A Santa Cruz native, Blinkenberg graduated from Santa Cruz High School in the early 1990s and then attended Cabrillo College in Santa Cruz where he studied computers and languages, including Russian and Portuguese, George Blinkenberg said.

"He was always there to help everybody," George Blinkenberg said.

Blinkenberg's funeral will be held at Davis Memorial Chapel in Watsonville on Monday morning