LOYAL. LOCAL. COMPLETE.
For nearly three decades, Paris Fire Capt. Steve Gallagher has quietly tended to the memory of those who served before him, placing memorial markers and flags on the graves of retired Paris firefighters buried across Edgar County every Memorial Day.
This year will mark his last year doing it as a Captain, but it won’t be the end of the tradition, thanks to his family and friends who have stepped up to carry on the memorial.
“This is the first year we’ve had to mark my father-in-law’s grave,” Gallagher said. “It makes it a bittersweet moment, but it just makes it that much more personal.”
The effort to mark graves of those who have retired from the department first began in 1999, when Gallagher researched the locations of all deceased retired department members with the help of Kim Jones, then-superintendent of Edgar Cemetery. At that time, all known members were interred at Edgar Cemetery in Paris.
“It’s very important that we recognize these men and their careers,” Gallagher said. “Only retired firefighters get these memorial flags, not just those who were there and then left … we place flags in memory of full careers.”
The Captain also noted that only one local firefighter has ever lost his life in the life of duty, and he receives recognition as part of the program as well.
Today, the program spans six cemeteries: Edgar Cemetery and Memorial Gardens Cemetery in Paris; Hoult Cemetery and Cherry Point Cemetery in Chrisman; Grandview Cemetery in Grandview and Fairview Cemetery in Kansas. Each member receives a memorial marker and flag before the holiday.
During a 2023 records review at Edgar Cemetery conducted with Superintendent Bruce Quinn, Gallagher discovered that the Paris Fire Department owns 15 burial plots on the grounds. He subsequently contacted Adams Memorial in Charleston to have dedicated plot markers created and installed for the area.
“I feel this is a very important part of Fire Department history — to remember the ones who served before us,” he explained.
While his retirement became effective last week, Gallagher made it clear that he will continue an active role in the tradition, and, that he will continue to be joined by family members, including his wife and his nephew, Noah Downs. Downs, a sophomore at Paris Cooperative High School, has assisted for the past eight years and has committed every burial location to memory.
“I think it’s important and I will want to be a part of it,” Downs said.