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On the morning of April 30th Kevin Douglas Printz was called for higher duty. According to those who knew and loved Kevin best, he has gone to heaven so that when his son Forrest makes that ascension, he'll be there to meet him and Forrest won't be afraid. I believe that, and so does Kyle, Forrest's brother.

Kevin was a Firefighter with the Sacramento County Fire Department. A good firefighter, a good husband, a good father, a good man. He had served our country in the Navy and been a full-time firefighter since 1992, his home station was Station 62

on Bradshaw Road. He was loved and respected by his fellow firefighters. They turned out, 400 uniformed firefighters, for his memorial service last month at Green Valley Church. They were dealing with their grief in the different ways people do, some cried, some were silent, others spoke of Kevin's gifts.

His friend and partner Mark Thomsen spoke of Kevin's great capacity to appreciate others, they had given him so much in the past few months. At the service Mark thanked the many, many friends who had unselfishly given to Kevin

and his family since Forrest's diagnosis of Metachromatic Leukodystrophy (MLD). And he thanked Kevin's parents, Doug and Jackie, for giving all of us Kevin, for the "love and kindness you bestowed upon Kevin (which) created an individual like no other and we will never again see his equal."

The Printz family has been dealing with the grave illness of little two-year old Forrest for many months, it was his death they were preparing for, not Kevin's. The members of

Taken from the June/July 1998 Issue

THE BEACON

Official Publication of the Sacramento Area Firefighters Local #522

the Sacramento County Fire Department had been giving their time to cover Kevin's absences at work so he could spend more time with Forrest. Friends and family had been preparing and delivering meals to help lighten the load for Debbie, Kevin's wife. Others had begun a trust fund to help with the expenses of Forrest's illness that insurance didn't cover. Their friends and family were helping them and according to Frank Diaz, another Sacramento County Firefighter, Kevin asked him to "please thank everyone for me, they've helped me and my family more than they'll ever know." Then we lost Kevin.

Another outpouring of gifts,

this time for Debbie, Kyle and Forrest. This time words of sincere sympathy and happy memories. This time a moving tribute to a man everyone seemed to love, honor and respect.

There have been many wonderful tributes written and told since April 30th. All of them describe a man we can all be proud of, a man any of us would be proud to call son, brother, father, husband, friend. In a letter addressed to Chief Emerson, SCFPD, Kevin's father Doug Printz writes "We're glad Kevin had the opportunity to work for such a fine Department and proud that so many of the

firefighters consider him their friend. If it's true that the measure of a man is in his friends, then Kevin was indeed, quite a man."

Thank goodness that sometimes we aren't expected to explain things like this, because sometimes there just isn't an explanation that makes sense. But it does make sense for us to believe that Kevin went ahead to make the way easier for Forrest. At least it does for me, and I hope it does for you.