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Remembering
Paul Montavon, Sr.
Whitewater Township Fire Department — Ohio
Classification: Volunteer
Rank: Lieutenant
Date of Death: August 13, 2006
Age: 59
P aul served his community for 33 years. In
1973, he started as a volunteer with
the Harrison Fire Department, serving
as a Lieutenant and Captain.
During his time at Harrison, he
received several awards from
the department for making
the most off-duty responses.
After retirement, he joined
the Whitewater Township
Fire Department, serving
for nine years as Safety
Officer and Lieutenant.
He served his communities
while still maintaining
a full-time first
job at U.S. Shoe, where
he worked for 32 years.
After U.S. Shoe, he worked
for the City of Harrison
as the van driver for the
Senior Citizens Center. He
drove the seniors to appointments,
shopping and delivered
meals to those unable to get out.
He loved to listen to the stories of the
seniors, and they all enjoyed his sense of
humor. He would keep dog biscuits in the van
for their pets, which they thought was great. The
seniors counted on his sense of humor to brighten
their day and keep them laughing.
He married Luana in 1972, and they raised three
children together: Paul Jr., Aaron and Melissa.
Paul Jr. has followed in his father’s footsteps as a
firefighter. One of Paul’s greatest joys was his two
grandchildren, Trevor and Lillian. He loved to
spend time with them and would often pick them
up from school or daycare. Paul loved the
outdoors and spent many hours of his
time tending to his yard. He had
friendly competition with neighbors
in keeping their yards flowering
and looking good. They
would all try to be one up on
the other.
Paul had a great sense of
humor and had a knack
for keeping people calm
during emergencies and
hard situations to deal
with. His fellow firefighters
knew that they could
count on Paul to make
everyone feel at ease during
tough situations. He
was very good at taking
people’s minds off the situations
and still being able
to keep things in perspective
while performing their duties.
His upbeat personality will be
missed by fellow firefighters. Paul
often assisted newer members in
teaching them from his experiences.
Paul collapsed of a heart attack while on the scene
of a domestic injury response. Efforts by his crew
members to revive him were unsuccessful, and he
died at the hospital shortly after arrival.
He will be missed by many people he interacted
with: family, friends, seniors, and firefighters. Our
memories of his humor and him laughing will allow
him to continue touching our lives.