Chief Eversole

Some observations on John and the last few days:

John went out in style and did it his way. He held “court” in his hospital room on Sunday, had the opportunity to call a lot of his old friends and peers in Chicago-land stop by, while sipping on a few rum and cokes. :-)
There were a lot of out-of-town friends and guests who were able to attend the services and/or funeral. In some respects, it was like a family reunion in the HM world.
CFD formally dedicated their 5-1-1 HM rig to John, which now carries his name.
Sue and Mike would like to extend their thanks and appreciation to the “family” of friends who offered so much support over the last week. Mike is quite a guy – he’s everything that John was, just a younger version. Mike will do well in life.
Included are my notes from John’s eulogy (the last image is a link to the eulogy). I was “on a roll” until the last paragraph...
A number of you have offered suggestions as to some things that can be done in John’s honor from the NFPA 472 Committee. Let’s capture those thoughts and we can talk about some options a little bit later. One observation – the Handbook will be dedicated to John.
The IAFC will be awarding the John M. Eversole Lifetime Achievement Award in John’s name. It will be given to those individuals on as “as-needed” basis, to those who have demonstrated a lifetime commitment to the HM training and response community. This was supposed to be a surprise to John at Hunt Valley, but Rick Emery was able to tell John about the Award last Saturday. Needless to say, he perked up with that one. :-)
For those attending the IAFC Conference in Hunt Valley, we will still be holding the first Annual John Eversole HABU Lodge #1 meeting on Saturday nite. If you don’t know what all of that means, then you will just have to show up and find out. I guarantee it will be fun and worthwhile.
The week could be summarized as a combination of both tears and laughs. Some of the emails that were sent to Sue and Mike from John’s friends were tremendous. For those long-time NFPA members, you need to get a copy of Jerry Grey’s email that references the infamous “Send Gray back to the Bay” trial where John was Jerry’s defense attorney, forced to appear before an unscrupulous judge (me). You can still submit your thoughts to Sue and Mike at cpolhamu@yahoo.com

Below are some photos that were taken during John's funeral.
In closing, we sometimes don’t take the opportunity to tell those who we work with, love and respect just how much they mean to us. John was special to all of us. But then, all of you are special. During my 21 years as a member of the 472 Technical Committee, I have had the privilege to meet , work with, and become friends with some of the finest human beings that exist in our chosen profession. Even though I may not always say it, I want all of you to know how much I appreciate all that you do and how much I cherish our friendships. And regardless of where our futures may take the Technical Committee, John – as well as Warren Isman, Max McRae and others who came before you, will always be a part of our efforts.

Have a great Memorial Day Weekend, and remember to honor those who have fallen in order to protect us.

Greg Noll