COLCHESTER -- As Michael T. Logan's family grieved inside their handsome Melanie Lane home, neighbors comforted each other outside and tried to lend support to the family.

"He was a good husband and good father and this shouldn't have happened to him," one neighbor, who did not identify herself, said through tears as she headed over to the Logan home at 147 Melanie Lane.

Logan's death shocked the small, growing community of Colchester, especially the closely knit subdivision not far from the Salem town line where he and his family lived and quickly made close friends.

The Rev. Larry Ouimet, a friend of the Logans who was called to their home after they learned of the shooting, recalled Michael Logan as a devoted father, loving husband and a workaholic.

"He was a computer wizard. He was constantly helping people with their personal computers. People at work did love him," Ouimet said.

"He was a perfectionist. Everything he did was done very thoroughly," Ouimet said. "There was not a nicer guy you could meet anywhere."

The Logans, both of Irish descent and deeply religious, asked the community to pray with them.

Ouimet spent the day with the family, and afterward issued a statement from them. They asked that they be allowed to "deal privately with this senseless tragedy."

To anyone "wishing to be of support to us at this time, may we humbly enlist your prayers now and in the days to come," the family statement said.

"We are sadly stunned by the events of this morning in Newington and we appreciate the tremendous outpouring of concern and sympathy we are receiving," the statement said. "We are profoundly touched by the assistance of Governor Rowland, the Connecticut State Police, our priests, family, neighbors, and friends."

Most of the neighbors in the cul-de-sac declined to speak to the media; some said it was the family's wish. Logan, 33, is survived by his wife, Margaret, and two children, Bridget Elizabeth, 5, and Patrick Ryan, 2.

The children were with neighbors Friday and had not been told of their father's death as of late afternoon, neighbors and police said.

Still, even those who did not know Logan felt the loss and the shock Friday. Flags at town hall flew at half-staff.

"Everyone feels a sense of loss. A resident of our community was tragically taken away from us," said First Selectwoman Jenny Contois, who called state police to ask that the media be kept away from the Logan home.

"There's a sadness in town hall. You never think it's going to happen in our backyard," Contois said. "It's a sad day."

Gov. John G. Rowland visited the Logan's house about 3:15 p.m. Friday for about 10 minutes. A state trooper stayed with the Logan family all day.

Logan was raised and educated in Massachusetts, where he graduated from Marshfield High School in 1982. He was active in the Boy Scouts and earned the rank of Eagle Scout as a young adult. He and Margaret married in 1990, and moved to Colchester in 1993.

Logan worked as an engineer in Groton until 1996. He was hired by the state lottery in September of that year as a data processing technical analyst. Also in 1996, Logan, whose undergraduate degree was from Northeastern University in Boston, earned a master's in business administration from the University of New Haven. He was promoted to the post of lottery manager of information systems in March 1997.

Logan is also survived by his parents, Richard and Louise Logan, of Humarock, Mass.

Funeral services will be held from the Aurora-McCarthy Funeral Home, 167 Old Hartford Road, Colchester, on Monday, beginning at 11:30 a.m. until 12:30 p.m. A Mass will be celebrated at 1 p.m. at St. Andrew's Church on Norwich Avenue in Colchester, where Logan and his family were congregants. Burial will follow at the New St. Andrew's Cemetery in Colchester.

Calling hours will be on Sunday from 4 to 8 p.m. at the funeral home.