Former Freeport Fire Chief James Gale dies at 93

James D. Gale, who served as chief of the Freeport First Department from 1989 to 1993, passed away Jan. 28 at Parkview Home, after a lengthy illness.

He is survived by his wife, Patricia (Althof) of Freeport, son Kevin of Wilton Manors, Fla., and daughter Tanya Wetherbee (Wade) of Colorado Springs, Colo. He was preceded in death by his parents and sister Jeanine Smith.

James Gale had a 27-year career with the Freeport Fire Department, joining as a firefighter in 1966. He served as a lieutenant and fire inspector before being promoted to chief. Gale’s retirement was the subject of a front page Freeport Journal-Standard story on Nov. 23, 1993, the day he retired. “Firefighting is a challenging profession. I’ve always viewed it as a certain amount of adventure,” he told the newspaper. “There’s a great satisfaction in helping people. It’s always satisfying to see a job well done, whether it’s a firefighter saving a life or a paramedic rendering emergency aid to the sick.” Among the achievements he outlined was starting a paramedic program in 1991, the opening of a third fire station and increasing the size of the department by eight members. Ken Foltz, who succeeded Gale, told the newspaper he was a devoted employee and “probably the most knowledgeable firefighter I’ve ever known.”

Gale was born Dec. 3, 1932, in Warren, Ill., the son of Glenn and Lucy (Wainwright). He was a halfback and captain of the Warren High School football team and also lettered in basketball. He graduated in 1950. He was an avid outdoorsman, enjoying hunting and fishing. As an adult, he and his wife played many rounds at Park Hills Golf Course and other area courses. He was part of a group of friends who frequently met for coffee at Nine East Coffee in Freeport.. He served in the U.S. Army Signal Corps, attaining the rank of corporal, and serving at two bases in Alaska, including the new Wildwood Station base on the Kenai Peninsula. He was a lineman at Northwestern Phone Co. in the Freeport area and sales representative at T&T Sales Co. of Warren, which served independent grocers with the Silver Stamps program, an alternative to S&H Green Stamps.. He followed in the footsteps of his father, a barber in Warren, by serving in the volunteer Warren Fire Department. He was captain and assistant chief before joining the professional ranks in Freeport.in 1966. The younger Gale studied fire science at Rock Valley College in the 1970s and earlier in his youth took business courses at Northern Illinois University and the University of Wisconsin in Platteville.

Gale’s family is planning a celebration of life later this year. He will be cremated and interred at Chapel Hill Memorial Gardens in Freeport.

Donations in his honor may be made to the Stephen Siller Tunnels to Towers Foundation or the American Heart Foundation.