This Page is dedicated to the volunteer members who have given the ultimate sacrifice in service to others. The members listed on this page died in active service to the crew. The names on the immediate right, died while performing those duties in the field.
| Kenith Patterson - Died in the line of duty March 18, 1936
Edwin Dudley "Buck" Hook, Jr. - Died in the line of duty August 18, 1972
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Benjamin Neighbors - Died while in Active Service June 13, 1981 - April 12, 2001
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CHIEF EMERITUS KIMBALL LEE GLASS
JUNE 16, 1923 - OCTOBER 25, 2004
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Chief Emeritus Kimball Glass - at the crew's 70 year anniversary gathering 2004 |
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Copied from the Lynchburg News and Advance
City Rescue Icon Dies by: Ron Brown Lynchburg News & Advance - Tuesday, October 26, 2004
In good times and bad, Kimball Glass considered himself a survivor. His most cherished possession were the people he served. When a tough economy took its toll on his restaurant business in the early 1980s, he responded in typical Kimball Glass fashion. "Thank you for helping me survive 1982," a sign at his restaurant, Kimball's Grill No. 2, said. "Merry Christmas."
"As far as I'm concerned," Glass said, "the best people eat here." But it was another type of service where Glass, who died Monday at age 81, will leave an enduring mark on the Lynchburg Community. He was an icon for rescue workers in Virginia.
For 52 years, he served as a guiding light for members of the Lynchburg Life Saving Crew and beyond. His call to public service carried with it an edge of a man driven to do things right. "He liked having his own way," said Grant Azdell, the life saving crew's current Chief Glass was a walking textbook on how rescue techniques should be applied.
"His mentoring spirit means a lot to people who owe their career to them," Azdell said. Glass' competence garnered him a statewide reputation for excellence. In 1968, Gov. Mills E. Godwin Jr. named him to a state advisory committee on Emergency Medical Services. The next year, he was a key component in rescue efforts in Nelson County after floodwaters from Hurricane Camille took dozens of lives. "I dedicated for life," Glass once said of rescue squad career.
At the time of his death, he was the Lynchburg Life Saving Crew's oldest member. Azdell said his legacy lives on in the people he taught. "He has been responsible for training a vast number of people in Virginia," Azdell said. For years, Glass was a daily fixture at the life saving crew building. "Recently, he hasn't been around as much," Azdell said. "His health has not been good for the past several months." In March, the life saving crew formally recognized his contributions for the last time. In 1997, Glass articulated what he thought public service means. "I encourage people to be useful to the community," he said.
Lynchburg, VA - Members of Lynchburg's Lifesaving crew have certainly seen their share of tragedy... but now they're in mourning themselves. The longest running active crew member died Monday of natural causes beloved by his fellow members. Glass became Chief Emeritus after he stepped down as chief in the late 1990s. He gave the Lynchburg Lifesaving Crew more than 50 years of service and finally cut back about a year ago. Chief Glass was 81.
VIRGINIA LIFE SAVING AND RESCUE HALL OF FAME
KIMBALL LEE GLASS, September 30, 1989
Kimball Glass has been a member of the Lynchburg Life Saving Crew for the past thirty-seven years. He has made the field of rescue a part of his life since the age of seventeen when he joined the United States Navy. During this time, Kimball worked aboard an aircraft carrier as a rescue technician. His job was to rescue pilots from downed aircraft during World War II. In 1951, after four and one-half years of active military service, Kimball joined the Lynchburg Life Saving Crew and has been responding to wrecks, floods, fires and other assorted disasters ever since.
The greatest disaster Kimball has worked was a result of hurricane Camille which caused extensive flooding and loss of life in Nelson County, Virginia in 1969. Kimball was in charge of search, rescue and recovery. This flood caused untold property damage and resulted in the lost of 138 lives. Kimball spent three and one-half weeks working on the rescue efforts of this natural disaster. Although the company he was working for granted him time off, it was without pay. Kimball received a letter of commendation from President Richard M. Nixon for his work in coordinating teams of volunteers from all over the State of Virginia during the rescue effort. He was later called upon to direct rescue operations following a train accident, also in Nelson County. This toll in this accident was nine deaths and sixty-nine injured. In both instances, Kimball took command not only of his Lynchburg men but coordinated efforts of other crews called in to assist.
Kimball rose through the rank of the crew holding the offices of Sergeant, 2nd Lieutenant, 1st Lieutenant and Captain. In addition he held the office of Chief (Captain) for 18 years. He is a Life Member of the Lynchburg Life Saving Crew and was elected as Chief Emeritus in 1985. Kimball was honored with the title of Life Member of the Virginia Association of Volunteer Rescue Squads in 1965, and served as President of the VAVRS in 1963, 1964, and 1965. He was District 3 Vice President for 6 years and Chief Rescue Officer from 1969 thru 1976. He was voted Chief Rescue Officer Emeritus for the VAVRS in 1976.
Kimball served on the Board of the Piedmont Heart Association for 6 years and the Lynchburg Highway Safety Commission for 4 years. He taught first aid for the American Red Cross for over 12 years. He was one of the first Board members of the Department of Emergency Medical Services.
Other accomplishments included serving as an instructor for VAVRS Rescue College at Virginia Tech. Where he instructed over 100 VAVRS members in Water Search and Recovery. He was the first member of the VAVRS to be named by Governor Godwin to the Emergency Medical Service Advisory Committee in 1968.
Kimball, with dedication and love for his fellow man, has devoted his lifetime to providing others with competent emergency medical assistance. He has served well, not only in the city of Lynchburg but also the entire State of Virginia with a pure sense of dedication regarding the welfare of all citizens. He has always been ready and willing to assist anyone in trouble with professional help that is second to none. Kimball Lee Glass is honored as a member of the Virginia Life Saving and Rescue Hall of Fame - September 30, 1989.
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