(CNN) Police officers and firefighters around Fort Dodge, Iowa, loved the Rev. Al Henderson.

Supporting those public safety workers became a second calling for Henderson, a Lutheran minister. For instance, when an officer had to knock on a door and tell a family a loved one had died in an auto accident, Henderson often accompanied them, Fort Dodge police Chief Roger Porter told CNN.

"He was the person we leaned on for that," Porter said, adding that Henderson would sometimes stay behind to counsel the family, even if he'd never met them before.

And Henderson helped officers through difficult times by serving as the chaplain for four public safety agencies in the area -- the police department, the Fort Dodge Fire Department, the Webster County Sheriff's Office and the Iowa State Patrol office. He wore a uniform with two patches on each sleeve, Porter said.

"We looked upon him as a brother," Porter said.

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