The Passing of a Friend

Today I learned that a man who was a very good friend of mine several years ago passed away this past Sunday. It was surprising because he was only 66 years old. Not that long ago, I spoke with him on the morning of his father’s funeral. Come to think of it, that was probably two years ago.

That was the first time I had spoken to Dale in probably 15 years or more. Both of us had gotten busy with our lives and I had moved a couple of times in the intervening years.

I got to know Dale when I became a member of a volunteer fire department in a small, rural, Illinois town. He was the training officer when I joined and he took me under his wing and made sure that I stayed out of trouble until I was properly trained. Yes, even volunteer firefighters receive training. In fact, every member of our department was required to attend 20-30 hours of training annually. In addition, we were encouraged to take advantage of any training offered by the volunteer firefighter’s association in our area.

Because of his example, and with his encouragement, I followed in Dale’s shoes and became an Emergency Medical Technician (EMT). Because of politics on the department that came from the fact that his father was the long-time chief of the department, Dale had let his certification expire. He encouraged me to get certified because he saw the importance of having that set of skills in our small, but very active department. I became the second EMT in the history of that fire department, and the first in over 6 years to be actively certified. Because of my willingness and Dale’s commitment to the availability of the most effective emergency medicine possible, within 6 years of my being certified, the department was able to boast that the majority of the volunteers who served there were certified Emergency Medical Technicians.

My contact with Dale was not limited to the Fire Department. At that time, in that community, wood burning stoves were all the rage. We had one in our home, so a lot of time was spent cutting and splitting firewood. Dale’s father had a farm where there was room for him to store a large supply of firewood. In exchange for helping him split and move his supply of firewood home, Dale would provide me with a load to help keep my family warm. I can’t tell you how many times I heard his pronouncement that using a wood burning stove was a good idea because you got warmed up several time. You were warmed when you cut and split the wood, you were warmed again when you loaded and unloaded the truck, and you were warmed again when it burned in the stove.

Dale served his community for 38 years as a volunteer firefighter. In addition, he was director of the town’s Civil Defense for 10 years, coordinated and trained storm spotters for the county for several years, and served the community in many other ways.

The funeral home that handled his arrangements has a web site where you can sign an online guest book and express your condolences to the family. One woman wrote:

Dale came to hook up my Health Alert and shared his love for all of you with me. It had been years since I had seen him, probably the last time I took a snapshot of the Fire Department for the newspaper. I said, "Dale, I just have to ask you one question. I don’t know you really personally. I know of you and most of us around (this area) are related in some way or another; but do you have any idea, "Why is it I always get a warm fuzzy feeling in my heart whenever I hear your name?"

That pretty much sums up my friend Dale. Never too busy to lend a helping hand, and thinking always of someone else before thinking of himself. Dale, my friend, thank you for making my life better for having known you. Even though you’ve answered your "final alarm," your service and commitment will be remembered for a years to come.