NEW YORK — It was a tearful final salute for Detective First Grade Anastasios Tsakos Tuesday.

His widow lrene now mourns the time lost. In a eulogy, she affectionately referred to her late husband as Tasso—her other half, the love of her life. 

“I wish we could grow old together. That was the plan, but you were taken from us too soon,” she said. 

Stolen from his young children, a three year-old son and six year-old daughter, they will be now forced to grow up without their father. 

“I will be sure they know who he is. Every day they will see his face, and learn about all the wonderful things he did and what a hero he was. They will never forget. I will make sure of that,” said Tsakos. 

NYPD officer Anastasios Tsakos, 43, was fatally struck last week while directing traffic at an accident scene in Fresh Meadows.

A sea of uniformed officers outside St. Paraskevi Greek Orthodox Church in Greenlawn, N.Y., promised they, too, will not forget. 

Thousands of officers, from the city and beyond, lined the street to pay their final respects to the 43-year-old highway patrolman. The NYPD says the department hasn't had a procession this big for a fallen officer since before the pandemic.

Tsakos was killed in the line of duty by an alleged drunk driver on the Long Island Expressway last week, while redirecting traffic from another crash. 

“We seek to make sense of this, to understand why this happened. What plan could have been part of it? What possible lesson could be gleaned from this?” said Police Commissioner Dermot Shea. “We cry out, ‘Well, God certainly knows his plan.’ We do not. And although Tasos may be in a better place, we want him here with us.”

Shea posthumously promoted Tsakos to detective first grade. His legacy includes nearly 200 arrests in his 14-year career. Shea said he rarely took a sick day. 

Mayor Bill de Blasio said Tsakos, who was born in Greece, was the epitome of the American dream.

“It does not make sense that someone can live his life right in every way can be taken from us so horribly, but his heroism uplifts us,” said de Blasio. 

Tsakos was lead to his final resting place by a convoy of motorcycles — a somber showing of respect by his fellow highway patrol officers — who will carry his legacy with them.