Don C. Cessna 1932-2010: Retired fire chief put protecting people first

KANSAS, Ohio - Don C. Cessna, 78, a second-generation fire chief and a longtime firefighter in the Seneca County community where he was born, died Thursday in his home.

He had leukemia the last three weeks, his son-in-law Mike Marquis said.

Mr. Cessna was not yet 20 when he joined the volunteer fire department in 1950. By 1957, he was chief.

"He was the appropriate person for the job," said Clark Boatman, a former member of the Kansas department.

"He went to all the schools and training you could possibly go to and trained his firemen as best he could, sent them to all the schools," Mr. Boatman said. "Everybody had respect for him."

Mr. Cessna's father had been involved in local civil defense as well as being fire chief. "Because of that, he got involved as well," Mr. Marquis said.

"He was a proud man. He lived in Kansas, and he wanted to protect the people around here."

Mr. Cessna might be sitting down to a holiday dinner or relaxing on a weekend or asleep, but came a fire alarm, "and away he would go," Mr. Marquis said. "You did what you had to do."

He didn't recount fires fought or tell stories of rescues performed.

"He didn't talk about stuff like that," Mr. Marquis said. "You did your job and did it to the best of your ability and lived life. It bit him hard."

Mr. Cessna retired as fire chief in 1988. He remained an active member of the department until 2000 and for several years still responded to runs. In later years, he remained at the station, where he tended to the radios and coordinated operations.

He was born May 26, 1932, in Kansas to Troas and F. Clayton Cessna. He was a graduate of the former Liberty-Jackson High School.

He was a Marine Corps veteran and served stateside in the Military Police during the Korean War.

He was a maintenance supervisor at Basic Inc., in Maple Grove, Ohio, where he worked for 32 years. He later was maintenance supervisor for Hayes-Albion in Tiffin and for Luckey Farmers in Luckey.

He collected miniature models of fire trucks. He began the vintage car show at the annual homecoming sponsored by the fire department, which attracted close to 100 vehicles. He fashioned the trophies himself.

"He was a true blue American family man," Mr. Marquis said. "He was dedicated to serving family and community. Family came first."

Surviving are his wife, Wilma, whom he married Feb. 8,. 1957; daughters, Robin Bennington, Linda Goodwin, Becky Etzinger, Brenda Marquis, and Julie Bowling, brothers, Fred and Carl Cessna, nine grandchildren, and three great-grandchildren.

Services will be at 1 p.m. today in the Harrold-Floriana Funeral Home, Fostoria. Afterward, the body will be taken to Kansas Cemetery on a Kansas fire truck. At least 25 fire trucks from departments in Seneca and Sandusky counties are expected to join the procession, Mr. Marquis said.

The family suggests tributes to the Kansas Volunteer Fire Department or a charity of the donor's choice.

Contact Mark Zaborney at:

mzaborney@theblade.com

or 419-724-6182.