Mete Sertbaş, 49, was the local administrative head of the Acibadem neighborhood before he, too, was gunned down while trying to fend off the coup plotters.
His wife, Rahşan, said she and her son were crushed by the news of her husband's death.
"I called him. Someone answered and shouted into the phone: 'Mete is dead. He's dead!' I was struck ... 'Are you joking?' I said.
"I faltered," she recounted. "I felt horrible."
Sertbaş said she still suffers from the loss of her husband and that her children miss their father very much. "We believe he's still with us."
Türkiye on Friday will commemorate those killed during the July 15, 2016 defeated coup.
Since its designation in October 2016, every year, the country marks July 15 as Democracy and National Unity Day, with events held to commemorate those who lost their lives beating back the putschists and remembering the bravery of the nation.
FETO and its US-based leader Fetullah Gulen orchestrated the defeated coup, which left 251 people dead and 2,734 injured.
Ankara also accuses FETO of being behind a long-running campaign to overthrow the state through the infiltration of Turkish institutions, particularly the military, police, and judiciary.
The attempt by FETO to overthrow the government began around 10 p.m. local time (1900GMT) on July 15, 2016, and was thwarted by 8 a.m. the next day.
Standing against the threat, the Turkish people courageously showed the world that they would not tolerate any attempt to thwart their will as expressed through their democratically elected government.
