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Remembering
Robert “Ockie” Wisting
Rio Grande Fire Company #1 — New Jersey
Classification: Volunteer
Rank: Firefighter
Date of Death: February 23, 2006
Age: 77
Ockie was a treasure to his community, family,
friends, and his fire department,
with which he served for more than
half a century. He had a devotion to
duty and a superior work ethic.
He put his heart and soul into
everything in life and anything
he touched. He was an inspiration
to all who knew him.
Ockie served in the U.S.
Army in the Pacific Theater
during World War II,
where he was commended
by his officers for work of
“extremely high caliber”
and the devotion to duty
that is an inspiration to his
fellow soldiers. He was a
soldier of exceptional ability
and qualifications.
A lifetime member of the Rio
Grande Volunteer Fire Company,
Station 72, he led as chief in 1965
and served in many other capacities,
including engineer, lieutenant, captain,
safety officer, and training officer. During more
than 51 years of service, he answered more than 3,600
emergency calls. He suffered a fatal heart attack at
home, after attending a department drill and responding
to a call the previous day. A master craftsman and
inventor, he created beautiful furniture with his special
Norwegian flare for his home, family and friends.
His innovations included the “Ockie Nozzle,” a fire
nozzle that can punch through the wall or roof of a
house. When the fire company was unable to afford
a new pumper in its early days, he added a front-
mounted pump and tank to a 1959 Jeep body
to create a pumper truck. Ockie took his
middle name from his great uncle, the
polar explorer Oscar Wisting, who
discovered the South Pole with
Roald Amundsen in 1911 and
flew across the North Pole
in 1926. He shared with his
namesake a sturdy directness,
and can-do attitude.
In 2000, Ockie traveled
to Larvik, Norway,
his father’s native town,
where he was interviewed
by the newspaper and
visited his uncle’s cabin
on the Polar ship Fram in
Oslo. In March 2006, the
Robert “Ockie” Wisting
Fort Apache Recreation
Complex was dedicated, honoring
his years of volunteer service
to the residents and visitors of
Rio Grande. A Memorial Motorcycle
Run for the Big House fundraising event
has occurred now for the past two years in
memory of Ockie.
Ockie was a wonderful person and is gone from
us. He loved helping people, keeping people safe,
and that is how his community will remember him.
Ockie: a loving husband, father, grandfather, friend,
and firefighter, who unselfishly gave his life to make
others’ lives better. We, your family, love and miss
you and, in the words we heard you say many times,
we will “carry on.”