BROOKSVILLE, Fla. (WFLA) —The impact 81-year-old Ed Mead had on the High Point community could be felt at a vigil Saturday evening.

Dozens of residents gathered by the guard house where Mead worked for the past 14 years, and sadly, where investigators said he was senselessly killed.

Mead loved his three favorite daughters.

“He was always there for us, no matter what,” Rebecca Mead Tipton said.

“I’d do anything for him,” Kimberly Mead Semcho said.

“Calling him every day just to hear his voice and see how mom is and tell him to have a good day and that I love him,” Missy Mead Richardson said about what she’ll miss the most about her dad.

The well-attended vigil for their father took place almost 24 hours after Hernando County Sheriff’s Deputies captured the man accused of the murder.

“I appreciate the sheriff’s office,” Mead Richardson said. “I appreciate all these people that came out to celebrate my dad.”

His daughters said he worked as a truck driver for 36 years before taking on the job at the front gate of the High Point community.

“My father one he didn’t have to work,” Mead Tipton said. “He loves to work. We all three got his work ethic.”

When tragedy struck this quiet neighborhood Thursday night, High Point resident Cindy Schweizer called 911 as she was with Mead during the final moments of his life.

“I told them I just wanted to know comfort,” she said, “that he did go peacefully. He wasn’t in pain. When he went, he just went to sleep and it’s fine. I wish I could do something, but I couldn’t do anything. I’m sorry.”

“I’m just glad you were there and that he didn’t die alone ’cause that’s not how he’d want it to be,” Mead Semcho said.

Now that the suspect, 23-year-old Jeremy Patterson has been arrested, the sisters said they plan to follow the court proceedings closely to make sure there is justice for their dad.

This Wednesday afternoon there will be a celebration of life for Ed Mead.