Community mourns the loss of Fire Chief Jerry David

Civic leaders, first responders, family and acquaintances of Jerry Lee David gathered Friday to remember his contributions both as fire chief of Graham Fire Rescue and as a person who upheld the values of his faith.

David was born in Benkelman, Nebraska, and started his career as a volunteer firefighter with the Tipton, Oklahoma fire department out of high school, according to GFD firefighter Pedro Ramirez who spoke at the memorial service.

According to a post from the city of Graham on Sept. 5, David suffered a heart attack a few  weeks prior, but out of respect to the family the city had not announced his condition. David served the Graham community almost 30 years with the last five as the chief of GFR and an EMT.

“Jerry lived a life of service. Helping his friends and neighbors was one of his greatest joys,” Ramirez said Friday. “He loved to visit and genuinely wanted to know about people and how they were doing. Jerry had a passion for farming and loved working on the farm for Charlie Harrell who he helped for over 25 years. Sowing wheat or plowing was a joy to him. He will always be remembered as a helping hand, shoulder to lean on or just a listening ear. Jerry’s heart was as big as his smile.”

According to an August 2015 article from The Graham Leader, David worked with Graham Fire Rescue since 1991 when he joined as a volunteer firefighter. In 1995, David was promoted from the volunteer position to a paid position and eventually became assistant chief in 2003.

In August 2015, David was appointed from interim chief to chief of the department. He filled the position previously held by Dennie Covey who said David was the most qualified to take position in May 2015. Graham City Manager Brandon Anderson spoke Friday about how one of his first tasks upon moving to Graham in 2015 was to hire a new fire chief.

“Chief Covey had just retired and so as the charter and policy read I put it out for applications and received quite a few very qualified applicants. But in my heart after visiting with Chief David, I knew he was the one for the job. After all, if Chief Covey trusted him to be second in command of such a fine group then who was I as the newcomer to come in and try and reinvent the wheel,” Anderson said.

Anderson said the week before the memorial he spoke with Assistant Chief Jim Don Laurent and Covey to discuss David before the city manager knew him and to do him justice for only being acquainted with him for five years.

“Chief Covey discussed Jerry’s attention to detail and how when he first moved here he was a wingman at Air Tractor and would talk about the importance of being precise and attention to detail so that the wing would not be an issue with the plane and how important that task was,” Anderson said. “He joined on as a volunteer and worked his way up to chief. He brought that attention to detail to our department and we are better for it. He helped enlighten our department and by that I mean he always worked to update and get better lighting on trucks so that our department could be seen and thus safer when on calls and at fires.”

Anderson said David also worked diligently to obtain the right equipment and safety gear for the fire department and was always able to find a deal to help the city. He discussed David’s first call with Covey upon joining the fire department as a volunteer.

“They were loaded up and headed to a cafe in Eliasville. Upon arrival, Jerry looked at Denny and said ‘What do we do now,’ and Denny said ‘We’re going to go in and fight that fire.’ Jerry said ‘Okay, I’m with you and you’re with me,’ and as a fireman those are very comforting words when you are headed to a task as trust and confidence are so important in this profession,” Anderson said.

Anderson said David stood out among the many he has worked with as someone devoted to both his profession and his faith.

“Jerry was a simple man who desired a simple life and was very grounded. He loved his mama and was always headed to see her when he could. He had just become a grandpa and was so proud of that little one. He believed in service to his community and gave us 30-plus committed years. He always put others before himself and lived by an example that others could follow if you wanted to and follow in the right path with the lord,” Anderson said. “I have worked with many individuals, but none as devoted to his job and devoted to his Lord as much as Jerry David. He will be missed and we honor him today.”

Firefighter Audy Walker who worked with David spoke about his service to the department and followed Assistant Chief Laurent and his wife Sabrina who spoke on David after presenting a bible verse.

“Chief has made his call on and off duty. He was a loyal servant and friend and always up for volunteering his time,” Laurent said Friday. “The victory is his for we know that he is in heaven with our Lord and savior Jesus Christ.”

Harrell spoke of his time with David during the memorial service and said he met him around 1994-1995. He said David was getting involved with the city fire department and he was getting involved with the Young County Volunteer Fire Department. He said David was looking for a part-time job and Harrell was building his home and he needed a helping hand to pull electrical wire.

“Little did I know that that work relationship would last 25 years. What started out as paying an employee to come and work ended as paying a friend to come and help,” Harrell said Friday. “Jerry would come out in the evenings after work and on weekends and I soon learned his love for farming. My dad and I needed some help and Jerry just fell right in. Dad made the comment several times of how loyal and dependable Jerry was. Through the years when others would go home Jerry would stay just as long as it took to complete the task. Many times we worked until 9, 10, 11, even later at night to finish the field that we had started that morning.”

Harrell said as much as David loved farming, his passion was helping others and serving the community through his efforts with Graham Fire Rescue.

“You would never find Jerry just sitting around if he felt that there was someone (who) needed help in any way,” he said. “Jerry was active in our church at different times and in different ministries. Those that I just know about (are) he served as a greeter. At one time he was helping in the agape ministry, which cooks for special occasions and those in need. He was on the church security team until his knees started bothering him and he retired from that. At Thanksgiving, you would find Jerry helping to prepare a meal for those that needed one. Jerry was a good friend of our family. When (my) dad passed away about three and half years ago, Jerry just took on a little bit more and stepped up and helped us.”

Harrell said when many in the community would be resting at home during bad weather, David would be up at the fire station on weather watch and would go out of his way to call Harrell to make sure they were alright during the storm.

The last speaker at the memorial service was Pastor Joe Finfrock of Oak Street Baptist Church where David was a devoted member. Finfrock said God worked through Jerry to spread his message.

“Jerry wasn’t an evangelist or a missionary or a preacher, he was a man who felt called in life to rescue others, to keep others safe, to help other people and to minister to them,” Finfrock said.

The memorial service ended with a send-off from the fire department and a flag presented to the family from Laurent. While David’s last call was made by Young County Dispatch over the radio that Friday, his impression to those in the community and at large will last forever.