QUILCENE — A memorial service for Deputy Fire Chief Robert “Moe” Moser on Saturday will pay tribute to his contributions to the fire department and the community, organizers said.
Moser, 78, died at home Feb. 7 after a four-month battle with cancer.
“He belonged at the fire department. He was always there,” said Fire Commissioner Debbie Randall, who is also an emergency medical technician with East Jefferson Fire-Rescue.
“He loved being in the fire hall. He loved going on calls and had a passion for his work,” Randall said.
The service begins at 10 a.m. at the Quilcene School, 294715 U.S. Highway 101.
“Moe was the backbone of the department,” Chief Larry Karp said.
“He was mentor to many of our responders. They might have a bad day and want to quit; they’d talk to Moe, and he’d change their mind.”
Moser was born July 12, 1936, in Rockford, Ill., and served in the U.S. Navy from 1953 to 1958.
He worked for the National Forest Service in Quilcene for several years prior to joining the Quilcene Fire Department, now Jefferson County Fire District No. 2, in November 1990 where he rose to the position of deputy chief.
He retired from the department in November after 24 years of service.
Moser twice took over as temporary chief: first in 2009 after the death of Chief Bob Wilson, serving until the hiring of Chief Bob Low the next year, and again in 2012 after Low resigned and before Karp was hired in 2013.
His second tenure was especially hard, Karp said.
During that time, voters removed two fire commissioners from office, and department morale was especially low.
“That was a terrible time,” Karp said. “But he was always optimistic, even when things were really dismal.”
The all volunteer Quilcene Fire Department has 32 active firefighters, Karp said.
Moser’s sense of humor was a cheerful force at the department, Randall said.
She recalled a time eight years ago when Moser arrived at the station for a call on top of a riding mower.
“One of his forest service responsibilities was to mow these huge fields, so when the 9-1-1 call came in, he turned the mower around and came riding down to the station,” Randall said.
“He pulled into the parking lot and got right on the truck.”
Randall said the mower that Moser was riding that day will be on display at the memorial service as a remembrance.
Veda Wilson, Bob Wilson’s widow, said that Moser was “a great guy and will be missed.
“He had a great attitude and was always happy,” she said.
“Everyone knew him when he walked into a room because you couldn’t meet him and forget him,” Wilson said.
“It was like he was born to be in that department, and I have a hard time imagining him being anywhere else.”
Port Townsend Police Detective Luke Bogues was a dispatcher in 2006 when he received a call from a Coyle resident reporting what appeared to be a beached whale in Dabob Bay but didn’t want to jump the gun on notifying other agencies until the sighting was confirmed.
“I could have sent out a sheriff’s deputy, but I knew when you needed information on the ground in Fire District 2, there was nobody better to call than Moe,” Bogues said in an email.
“He was the embodiment of that community in many ways and more in touch with it than most anyone I’ve met.”
Moser took over the task of searching for the supposed whale, calling in dispatches as “whale watch command.”
The whale, as it turned out, was “non aquatic in nature” — merely a boulder, Bogues said.
“Nearly anyone else probably would have been upset being tasked with a wild goose chase like that,” Bogues said.
“But to Moe, it was part of the job, his service to his community, and you could tell he had fun with it.”
Moser and his wife of 45 years, Marilyn “Marnie” Moser, were devoted to serving their Coyle neighbors, friends said.
He is survived by his wife, daughters Robbyn Rinaudo and Wendy Rue, son Robert “Bob” Moser Jr., eight grandchildren and three great-grandchildren.
Remembrances can be made in the form of donations to Jefferson County Fire District No. 2, the family said.
Moser will be buried at sea in a private ceremony, Marnie Moser said.
For more information, call the Quilcene Fire Department at 360-765-3333.
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Jefferson County Editor Charlie Bermant can be reached at 360-385-2335 or cbermant@peninsuladailynews.com.