( CNN ) -- Charles Poland was doing a job he loved , driving a bus full of children he loved along rural Alabama streets and highways . And then , in a quick flurry of bullets , he was dead . For that -- for refusing the gunman 's demand to take two schoolchildren around 4 p.m. Tuesday , then to face the horrific consequence -- Poland is being called a hero ; by officials in the school system he worked for , by the people of Dale County , by his family . `` You could n't give nothing greater than your life for a kid or anyone else , '' his brother-in-law Melvin Skipper told CNN affiliate WDHN . `` That 's a hero . '' His life began on July 16 , 1946 , in Payette , Idaho -- a town along the Oregon border some 2,300 miles northwest of where his life ended , in southeastern Alabama . For 43 of his 66 years , he was married to Mary Janice Poland . During his lifetime , `` Chuck '' -- as he was known -- also became a father of two and `` paw-paw '' of two grandsons . And he had other children as well . After some time as a substitute bus driver , Poland began full-time duty shuttling students around Dale County four years ago . It was a job he enjoyed , his brother-in-law said , because of the children he drove . `` There was a laughter and a love that he had for the kids , '' Skipper recalled , reflecting on the regular conversations he 'd have with his wife about `` my youngins ' . '' `` They were his youngins ' , when he had them on the bus . '' His wife told the local newspaper , the Dothan Eagle , that her husband would do anything for his young passengers , like many others . `` He loved them , '' she said . `` He loved everybody , and he was loved . '' His neighbors in the small town of Newton and relatives remembered Poland as a gentle man , a humble man , a man of faith . In words and deeds , he did n't hesitate to help others in need and would n't take anything in return , according to his neighbor Hilburn Benton , who talked to the Eagle . Yet many others first learned of him after Tuesday , when a man -- whom authorities have n't identified , but neighbors and news outlets say is 65-year-old retired truck driver and Vietnam veteran Jimmy Lee Dykes -- approached his bus in Midland City . The gunshots rang out after Poland rebuffed the suspect 's attempts for two children . Dykes then took one 5-year-old boy , bringing him to the handmade bunker he had created near his home . Late Thursday night , that 's where the child and his kidnapper remained -- with no sign the boy had been harmed , said Dale County Sheriff Wally Olson , but no indication a breakthrough was imminent , either . As to Poland , he 'll be memorialized Saturday night at a visitation service , followed by his funeral Sunday afternoon at the Ozark Civic Center . `` We are mourning a hero , '' the Dale County schools said , `` ... who gave his life to protect 21 students who are now home safely with their families . '' That sentiment was echoed in Poland 's obituary . He , the notice said , was `` a selfless man whose life exemplified the Lord he served , ( who ) made the ultimate sacrifice by saving the lives of the children he loved . ''
Bus driver Charles Poland , 66 , was killed while on a route in southeastern Alabama . Score: 6 His relatives say Poland was a gentle man who loved the children he drove and others . He is now being remembered as a a selfless man who `` made the ultimate sacrifice ''