- Giffords is upgraded from critical to serious condition
- Dorwan Stoddard's widow: "He saved my life, and gave his for it."
- A memorial takes place for Giffords staffer Gabriel "Gabe" Zimmerman
For more on this article, see CNN affiliate KGUN
Tucson, Arizona (CNN) -- U.S. Rep. Gabrielle Giffords, shot in the January 8 mass shooting in Arizona, continued to make progress as mourners said goodbye to one of her staff members and a retired construction worker who died shielding his wife.
On Sunday, the funeral for Dorwan Stoddard took place in Tucson. Witnesses said when the gunfire rang out, Stoddard, 76, was trying to protect his wife, Mavy, when he was shot in the head and fell onto her.
During Stoddard's funeral, Pastor Mike Nowak of Mountain View Church of Christ wore a red shirt and cowboy boots in honor of Stoddard, according to CNN affiliate KGUN.
Nowak said Stoddard -- who took care of the church's maintenance -- was so persistent that when he fell through the church's roof while making repairs one day, he wrapped his own arm in paper towels and electrical tape and kept working, KGUN reported.
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Moment of silence at site of AZ shooting "He didn't die a hero. He lived a hero," Nowak said, according to KGUN.
Mavy Stoddard was shot three times in her legs but is expected to recover.
"He died for me, and I have to live for him," the widow said, KGUN reported.
A memorial for Gabriel "Gabe" Zimmerman, 30, also took place Sunday. Zimmerman was director for community outreach on Giffords' staff and was engaged to be married.
In addition to Stoddard and Zimmerman, those killed included 9-year-old Christina Green; Arizona's chief federal judge, John Roll; Dorothy Morris, 76; and Phyllis Schneck, 79.
Giffords was upgraded from critical to serious condition Sunday, eight days after being shot through the brain at a public event.
"The congresswoman continues to do well," University Medical Center in Tucson said in a statement Sunday.
Giffords was among 19 people shot at the "Congress on Your Corner" event at a Tucson supermarket. Authorities believe she was the target of the mass shooting that left six dead and another 13 wounded. A 22-year-old suspect, Jared Lee Loughner, is in custody.
The contentious issue of gun control was put in the spotlight Saturday when one of the 13 wounded in the attack was involuntarily committed to a county mental services unit after he made threats against a Tea Party member at a town hall event in Tucson.
James Eric Fuller, 63, photographed Trent Humphries and said, "You are dead," when Humphries began speaking at the event, according to Pima County Sheriff's Department spokesman Jason Ogan.
Humphries told CNN that Fuller's comment came when the town hall discussion turned toward the issue of gun control.
"I was asked to give my thoughts on gun control laws and perhaps the passage of new laws," Humphries said of the incident. "I said something to the effect that although gun rights and laws are not necessarily the primary focus of the Tucson Tea Party, our community needs to be given the opportunity to allow some time to pass and people to heal before we start this type of political dialogue."
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