Rick Best

A memorial service has been scheduled next week for Rick Best, one of two men killed in a brutal attack Friday aboard a MAX train.

Best's funeral has been set for Monday, June 5 at 10 a.m. at Christ the King Church in Milwaukie, the Catholic Sentinel reported.

Best, 53, an Army veteran, worked as a technician for Portland's Bureau of Development Services. He was headed home to Happy Valley when a man began hurling epithets at two teenagers aboard a MAX Green Line train.

Best and two others intervened. The man then pulled a knife and stabbed the three men, killing two and injuring one.

Best had three teenage sons and a 12-year-old daughter. In a television interview, Best's oldest son, Erik, remembered his father as an upbeat person.

"The last name is sort of ironic because he was the best father," Erik Best told KATU. "He was always cheery. After serving in the military, he'd usually say, 'Hey, I'm not getting shot at, why shouldn't I smile?'"

"He died fighting the good fight, protecting the innocent. Honestly, that's what he probably would've wanted," Best told KATU. "I miss him, we all miss him.

"He was a hero."

— Rob Davis

rdavis@oregonian.com

503.294.7657; @robwdavis