UPDATED 2:15 P.M.
The Bluffton Police Department has announced funeral arrangements for Officer Dominic Francis, who was killed in the line of duty on March 31, 2022.
FUNERAL SERVICE
11 a.m. Friday, April 8, 2022 at the Bluffton University Sommer Center, 1 University Drive, Bluffton, Ohio, 45817
Doors to the Sommer Center will open at 9 a.m. Four to five thousand guests from outside the Village of Bluffton are expected to attend, including law enforcement/first responders from across the country. Limited seating for the public will be first come, first served. Overflow seating will be in Founders Gym and Yoder Recital Hall, also on Bluffton’s campus.
The service will also be livestreamed at https://boxcast.tv/channel/jgei2o5q5rjqiprrxqm3.
The following roads will be closed to traffic starting at 8 a.m. in the Village of Bluffton to accommodate a motorcade:
Bentley Road from Augsburger Road to Columbus Grove-Bluffton Road/Grove Street and Elm Street from Bentley Road to Main Street.
Parking on campus will be limited to university faculty, staff, and students and law enforcement/first responders. Bluffton residents planning to attend the funeral are asked to walk to the service. Parking for all others will be limited to street parking throughout the village.
The family is asking for their privacy to be respected and ask that photos/videos of them not be taken during their time of mourning.
Following the funeral, a procession of law enforcement officers and first responders will depart for Clymer Cemetery in Mt. Cory. All are welcome to pay their respects along the route, with the procession to begin at approximately 12:30 p.m.
Vehicles will turn right out of the Sommer Center parking lot onto Elm Street and then left on Main Street/County Road 313 in Bluffton to Cory-Rawson School. The procession will make a loop through the bus entrance and parking lot and will proceed back to County Road 313. The route will turn right on State Route 235 and through the Village of Mt. Cory with the procession continuing north to Township Road 37 and to Clymer Cemetery for the private burial. All are welcome to line the route to pay their respects to Officer Francis.
Fort Findlay FOP Lodge is handling donations for Officer Francis’s family, and have set up an official donation page on their website www.fortfindlayfop20.org.
OBITUARY
Dominic M. “Dom” Francis, 42, was killed in the line of duty on Thursday, March 31, 2022 near Bluffton, Ohio. He was born in Bluffton on August 9, 1979 to Robert and Vicky (Bratcher) Francis and they survive. Dom graduated from Cory-Rawson High School in 1998 and then, the University of Findlay in 2002 where he played football. He married Ricki Davis on June 21, 2010, and she survives along with a son, Blake Francis of Van Buren, daughter, Taylor (Matthew Hill) Born of Tiffin, sister, Chase (Brett) Eikenbary of Mt. Cory, paternal grandparents, Maryland (Ann) Francis of Bluffton and numerous nieces, nephews and extended family. He was preceded in death by his paternal grandparents, Junior (LaDonna) Bratcher.
He served on the Findlay Police Department and the Hancock County Sheriff’s Office before joining the Bluffton Police Department where he served the community for 11 years. During those years, Officer Francis was awarded the Officer of the Year award twice, multiple Letters of Commendation, The Chief’s Leadership Award and a Bluffton Police Department Life Saving Award to name a few. Officer Francis also served as a Captain for the Southwestern Hancock Joint Fire District for several years. He was also honored by Mothers Against Drunk Drivers as Top Cop and earned the Ohio EMS Star of Life multiple times. Dom was very active with Cory-Rawson High School where he was a strength and conditioning coach, football coach, substitute teacher and bus driver. He also enjoyed spending time with family and friends at Indian Lake and driving his boat.
Visitation will be held on Thursday, April 7, 2022 from 3:30-7:00 p.m. at the Cory-Rawson High School Auditorium. A Funeral Service will begin at 11:00 a.m. on Friday, April 8, 2022 at the Sommer Center at Bluffton University. Burial will follow in Clymer Cemetery. Memorial contributions in memory of Officer Francis to the FOP Lodge 20 Foundation, PO Box 1335, Findlay, OH 45840. Funeral arrangements have been entrusted to Colden-Crates Funeral Home. Online condolences can be expressed to the family by visiting coldrencrates.com.
