www.NEWYORKQNEWS.com   ::   www.QONSTAGE.com   ::   www.QNEWSMEGAMALL.com   ::   www.MUNDOQ.com   ::         advertisement:  www.THEBESTOFFIREISLAND.com
Cherry Grove and Fire Island Pines, Long Island New York
      Home   |   Calendar   |   Gallery   |   Organizations   |   Location   |   Real Estate   |   Directory   |   Shopping   |   Email Us   |   BLOG   |
   blogs: mundo[Q] »   |   [Q]metropolis »  
advertisement: www.26west17.com »   |   www.cjmingolelli.com »
   
  
Grove Fire Department Remembers Ex-Chief George Oakley (October 27, 1949-May 26, 2014)
by Bruce-Michael Gelbert      |   follow us...

   
photo by Bruce-Michael Gelbert
George Oakley memorial
.......................................................................................................................................................................................
On June 14, the Cherry Grove Fire Department (CGFD) held a moving ‘Firematic Memorial Service,” outside the Grove Fire House, for George Oakley, Fire Chief from 1996 to 1999, who passed away on Memorial Day. Much of Cherry Grove was in attendance.
Flags flew at half mast and sirens and bells were sounded in George’s memory. Fire Chief Steve Williams welcomed us, beginning, “It’s a sad day for us in Cherry Grove, but we’re thrilled to see everybody here.” CGFD Chaplain Kurt Gahan opened his address saying, “Our gathering is a solemn one. We don’t want to say goodbye,” and quoted from Ecclesiastes 3, Isaiah, John 15, and Romans 8.
Third Assistant Chief Kay Davis beautifully sang “Amazing Grace” and, as George’s helmet was placed on the fire truck that would be part of the procession, “His Eye Is on the Sparrow.”
In his address, Steve noted that George joined CGFD in February 1990 and served as a firefighter here for more than 20 years. He was instrumental in getting Grove firefighters “personally fitted turn-out gear,” rather than their using random gear that they found around the Fire House. After a call for CGFD to assist EMS interrupted Steve’s speech, he resumed, saying, “We will certainly miss [George’s] presence, but we have many things he built to remind us of him.”
Clyde Oakley, George’s brother and partner in Oakley Brothers Home Improvements contracting firm for 30 years, said that the one word that he might use to sum George up was “lover”—“George loved life, his daughter Laura, people, pets, challenges, and all the ladies.” He spoke of the brothers’ “lifelong bond of respect, trust, and reassurance” and of his sibling’s “hell-raising: George was very good at it.” George, Clyde told us, served in the 101st Airborne in Vietnam, where he earned a bronze star and two purple hearts. CGFD President Arthur Cohen pinned George’s badge, number 139, on Clyde and the Brookhaven Fire Chief presented George’s family with a Bible.
There was a moment of silence in George’s memory, followed by a procession east on Bayview Walk to Island Breeze restaurant for a reception.

........................................................................................................................................................................................
 
GET OUR FREE e-NEWSLETTER  
   
    

   QUICK LINKS
  FERRY
SCHEDULE

Cherry Grove
F.I. Pines
  REAL ESTATE
Sales
Rentals
NYC Sales
  CALENDAR
OF EVENTS

Shows, Benefits, Art Events
About Gay Cherry Grove and Fire Island Pines   ABOUT GAY
FIRE ISLAND

Galleries
Our History
Getting to Cheery Grove and Fire Island Pines   GETTING TO
FIRE ISLAND

Train | Ferry
Bus | Car
New York Gay, Cherry Grove and Fire Island Pines
   
   
   Advertisements
   
   Fire Island Pines Real Estate, Cherry Grove Real Estate, all Fire Island Real Estate - Prudential Douglas Elliman Real Estate     Fire Island Pines Real Estate, Cherry Grove Real Estate, all Fire Island Real Estate - Prudential Douglas Elliman Real Estate
New York Q News Fire Island Realtors The Best Of Fire Island
Gay E-zine with everything hip and happening in New York City. News and events all around the city.
www.newyorkqnews.com
..........................................................
The best summer rentals properties and homes for sale in all of Fire Island, The Pines and the Grove
www.fireislandrealtors.com
..........................................................
Fire Island Pines, Cherry Grove, Ocean Beach, Water Island & all of Fire Island Residentials Sales and Summer Rentals.
www.thebestoffireisland.com
..........................................................
   
New York City Real Estate - Prudential Douglas Elliman Real Estate Fire Island Pines Real Estate, Cherry Grove Real Estate, all Fire Island Real Estate - Prudential Douglas Elliman Real Estate
Shopping Online? New York City Homes CJ Mingolelli
Gives Us a Try. Online Mega Mall. Your community online shopping mall/Apparel, Books, Movies, Cars, Homes and much, much more ...
www.qnewsmegamall.com
..........................................................
Looking to Sell or Buy your new home. Contact two specialist in the Manhattan market. Call us: 212-321-7117.
Visit Our Website >>
..........................................................
Fire Island Pines & Cherry Grove Homes For Sale & Summer Rentals: Season, Month & Weekly.
www.cjmingolelli.com
..........................................................
   
   Advertisements

The Best Of Fire Island
Fire Island Pines, Cherry Grove, Davis Park, Water Island Residentials Sales and Summer Rentals.
www.thebestoffireisland.com

Fire Island Realtors
The best summer rentals properties and homes for sale in all of Fire Island, The Pines and the Grove
www.fireislandrealtors.com

Fire Island Q News
Monthly Gay Webzine, Fire Island Pines & Cherry Grove, LGBT Resort Communities on the Atlantic.
www.fireislandqnews.com

New York Q News
Gay E-zine with everything hip and happening in New York City. News and events all around the city.
www.newyorkqnews.com

Fire Island Residential Sales & Summer Rentals
Fire Island Pines & Cherry Grove Homes For Sale & Summer Rentals: Season, Month & Weekly.
www.cjmingolelli.com

South Florida Homes
Looking to Sell or Buy your new home. Contact two specialisst in the"SoFla" market.
www.coastaldigs.com


New York City Homes
Looking to Sell or Buy your new home. Contact two specialist in the Manhattan market.
www.26west17.com

New York's Performances & Arts
Theater, Performing Arts and Entertainment Reviews in the New York City metropolitan area.
www.qonstage.com

Shopping Online? - Gives Us a Try!
Online Mega Mall. Your community online shopping mall/Apparel, Books, Movies and more ...
www.qnewsmegamall.com






  

ADVERTISEMENT


















   VIDEOS
    
   
   RECOMMENDED READING
Into The Pines Kitchen Cookbook
Fire Island Pines "Into the Pines Kitchen" cookbook. Into the Pines Kitchen contains 200 recipes from 100 contributors, including Pines notables Scott Bromley, Gilbert Parker, and Hal Rubinstein. As a nod to bygone days, the book also features a posthumous contribution from John Whyte, one of the Pines' founders. The book includes original photography of the island from Pines artists William Karam, Mark Lonsbury, and Barbara Sahlman.
More About this Book»

Buy this Book Here»

..........................................................................................................................
And What's More, Baby, Queens Can Cook:
Cherry Grove Doctor's Fund Introduces
Their New Cookbook
Cherry Grove cookbook. "Drag Queens Can Cook-Recipes to Sync Your Lips Around" is a new cookbook, being sold for a tax deductible $25, created by doctors and life partners Rick Byrd, PhD, and Patrick Fratellone, MD, as a benefit for the Elmer A. Lindsay Memorial Medical Center, the Cherry Grove Doctor's Fund.
Read More»

More About this Book»

Buy this Book Here»


New York City or Fire Island Dream Home


Fire Island Pines Real Estate, Cherry Grove Real Estate, all Fire Island Real Estate - Prudential Douglas Elliman Real Estate



DELL.com

MACYS.com

Overstock.com

QNewsMegaMall.com

SONYstyle.com

TLAvideo.com

Undergear.com
Fire Island Pines Real Estate, Cherry Grove Real Estate, all Fire Island Real Estate - Prudential Douglas Elliman Real Estate








[   RETURN TO TOP   ]