(UPDATED: March 31 @ 10:00 MT)
From the National Park Service:
The full story of Remembering Rick Gale can be viewed at the NPS Daily Digest- Daily Headlines page. Below is a brief update on the remembrance ceremony this coming Friday and on other matters, including where to send condolences.
Rick Gale, retired NPS chief of fire operations and a ranger with more than 40 years of field experience, died unexpectedly of a heart attack at his home in Boise, Idaho, on Friday, March 27th.
Rick is survived by his sister, Anne Berardi, and her husband, Pete Prince, of Goodyears Bar, California; his sister, Judy Gale, and partner, Gale Jensen, of Omaha, Nebraska; his daughter Beth Spencer, her husband Cliff, and their daughter, Lily, of Show Low, Arizona; his daughter, Cindy O’Neill, of Jackson, Wyoming, and her sons senior airman Matthew Wadsworth, stationed at RAF Lakenheath in the United Kingdom, and Cameron O’Neill, of Port Angeles, Washington; his daughter, Sarah Fisher, her husband Chad, and their son Beckett of Boise, Idaho; and his companion, Sherry Clark of Napa, California.
Condolences may be sent to The Gale Family, c/o Fisher, 4252 E. Homestead Rim Drive, Boise, Idaho 83716. You can also send them online .
In lieu of flowers, the family has asked that contributions be made to the Association of National Park Rangers. Donations can be made online by credit card via ANPR’s secure server . Please type “Rick Gale Memorial Fund” in the comments section of the donation webpage. If your preference is to donate by personal check or money order, please mail either of them to ANPR, 25958 Genesee Trail Road, PMB 222, Golden, CO 80401 and write “Rick Gale Memorial Fund” on the memo line.
A remembrance celebration will be held at 11 a.m. on Friday, April 3rd, at the Barber Park Education Center, 4049 S. Eckert Rd., Boise, ID 83716. It will be followed by a pot luck lunch. If you are coming and able to bring a dish, please notify Jes Benson at galememorial at gmail.com. If you would like to speak at the celebration, please contact either Chad Fisher or Dan Buckley via email (chad_fisher at nps.gov, dan_buckleyat nps.gov ).
A compilation of memories of Rick is being put together for his family. If you would like to contribute a memory, story or experience, please send same to Bill Wade at jwbillwade at earthlink.net .
For continuing updates on the specifics of the celebration, please check the Fire and Aviation Management home page .
More information about Rick Gale’s passing was covered earlier on Wildfire Today.
