Farewell to Chief Whitney

There was a sad loss in Springville last week. Fire Chief, Phil Whitney passed away last Wednesday unexpectedly. Jeff was very shocked by it as was everyone else. He was a good man. Jeff really enjoyed working with him on the fire department. He will always be remembered as a man of service, and honor. He was a big jokester too. Not everyone saw that side of him, but Jeff sure has some great stories, and memories. His funeral was an amazing site to see. A true military and fireman's tradional funeral. The procession of fire trucks that came to honor him was 2 miles long. They had a flag archway for the trucks to pass under, thanks to Spanish Fork Dept. ladder trucks. During the cemetary service they had many traditional elements. They had a gun salute, TAPS was played beautifully and they had an amazing bagpiper. They had a lifelight helicopter fly over. There was the flag folding from the top of the casket and the presenting of the fireman's helmet to the family. The most touching parts were the mist scene. This is when 3 fireman in full gear head into the water mist as one goes by himself to signify the loss. Then they had the last page for the chief. All the pagers went off and that was very emotional. He will truly be missed. The following are some pictures of the viewing at the fire station on Sunday night and then the others are of the funeral this past Monday.