SEATTLE -- Police and firefighters honored Deputy Kent Mundell as his body was escorted in a motorcade to Pierce County.

The procession started at the Seattle Medical Examiner's office and ended at the Mountain View Funeral Home in Lakewood.

SLIDESHOW: Deputy's Motorcade To Pierce County
UNCUT: Chopper 7 Video Of Motorcade

I-5 overpasses were lined with members of the public, fire department and law enforcement who stood in salute as the procession passed by.

Those who stood along the route said they came to honor the fallen officer.

"This is to honor him, for his sacrifice and service to our community," said one man watching the motorcade.

One woman brought her son. She said even at his young age, he wants to be a police officer.

"He was very upset to hear one of his friends died ,so he wanted to stop and watch the processional," said Makalai Edwards.

The 35 mile journey to Lakewood ended just after 3 p.m.

Mundell, 44, died with his family at his side shortly after 5 p.m. on Monday, said sheriff's office spokesman Ed Troyer.

"When they pulled the life support off of him, he went very quickly," Troyer said.

WATCH IT: Salutes, Vigils For Deputy Mundell

Mundell's body was escorted by fellow deputies from Harborview Medical Center to the King County Medical Examiner's office Monday night. Draped with an American flag, Deputy Mundell was surrounded by saluting law enforcement officers.

Police said David E. Crable, 35, shot Mundell and Sgt. Nick Hausner, 43, as the officers responded to a domestic disturbance call at the home of Crable's brother near Eatonville. Family members called to have an intoxicated Crable removed.

Crable, who police said has a history of domestic violence, was killed in a subsequent shoot-out with Hausner and Mundell. Hausner recovered from his injury and visited Mundell on Christmas Eve. Troyer said Hausner, who is recovering at home, was notified of Mundell's death soon after it happened.

Since Mundell's death, people continue to gather for candlelight vigils outside sheriff's precinct in Puyallup, The vigil's organizer said he plans to light candles there every night at 8 p.m. until the Jan. 5 memorial. Thousands of officers are expected at the event at 1 p.m. in the Tacoma Dome.

Pierce County Executive Pat McCarthy has directed that all flags in Pierce County be lowered to half-staff until further notice in honor of Mundell.

Richard Hildreth, the mayor of the city of Pacific, ordered flags lowered in honor of Mundell. Hildreth said he plans to add two more blue lights on City Hall to commemorate the deputy and his family.

On a Facebook page created to honor Mundell, people are writing messages to Mundell's wife and two children.

One woman wrote: "I am so sorry for your loss, there are no words that express my heartfelt sadness for yet another police family going through this horrific grief."

Prior to his career in law enforcement, Mundell had a successful career with Milgard windows in Fife.

Mundell started at the family-owned window company in 1991.

"Kent was a very confident person. He walked in here in his mid 20s with a high school diploma. He kind of politely and boldly told us why we should hire him at the level of supervisor -- and we did," said Milgard safety manager Dave Buffelen.

His former colleagues said he was the kind of person who comes into a company, wins over colleagues, increases efficiency and improves morale. Repeatedly, Milgard staff described him with the same word: special.

Many who worked alongside Mundell said they were not surprised when he revealed his dream of changing careers to become a police officer.

"I think he did what he did because he really cared about people. He believed in his job," said Milgard manager Steve Palmer.

The friendships Mundell made at Milgard didn't end when he left the company. His former coworkers said he stayed in touch through visits and phone calls.

"It didn't take long for the news to come down that it was Kent (who was shot) and we were shocked and frightened," said Teri Palmer in Milgard's quality assurance department.

His friends at Milgard said they will go to Mundell's funeral to let people know they were touched by Mundell's charisma and strength.

"He was a friend to a lot of us and we're going to miss him," said Teri Palmer.

The shootings marked the third time in less than eight weeks that police officers in Washington state had been shot in the line of duty.

Four Lakewood officers were shot to death in a coffee shop as they did paperwork before their shift in late November. A Seattle police officer later fatally shot the suspect. A month earlier, on Halloween night, Seattle Officer Timothy Brenton was killed as he sat in his patrol car. The suspect in that shooting has been charged with aggravated first-degree murder.

Troyer said the decision to take Mundell off life support was made on Monday. Since the shooting, officers from around the region kept vigil at the hospital.

"We don't want to leave out what has happened here in the last month. There's a ton of families out there, a whole bunch of kids, a lot of widowed people out there because of has gone on in the state of Washington. Most law enforcement throughout Western Washington are grieving," Troyer said. "That's why they're here."