'Very revered individual': Former Gravenhurst fire chief dies at 81
MuskokaRegion.com
Mentor. Respected. Caring.
These are some of the words people have used to describe the late Gravenhurst fire chief Lorne Evan McNeice, who died July 5 at South Muskoka Memorial Hospital. He was 81.
McNeice started with the department in 1972, first as a volunteer firefighter before rising through the ranks to the appointment of deputy chief in 1975, then chief in 1985.
“It is time to hang up my helmet and call an end to my 40 years of service,” McNeice said at the time of his retirement in 2012. “I have been very fortunate to spend a lifetime with so many fine people.”
He was honoured in late 2022 by the department he served for many years with the naming of a new training centre for its firefighters after the former chief. The Chief L.E. McNeice Training Centre is now located at the Station 1 headquarters.
Current Gravenhurst fire chief Jared Cayley said he had known the late chief for many years, first when McNeice was working at the former Ontario Fire College and later when Cayley was the deputy chief in Bracebridge, especially when the two departments would work together on service calls.
He called McNeice “a very revered individual,” mentioning that the late chief juggled his duties working at the fire college and as a volunteer fire chief for the town to protect his community.
“He was very well-respected and that would be all over the fire service. I'm sure his influence stretches beyond Ontario’s borders,” he said.
Even after his retirement, Cayley said McNeice never lost touch with the people he worked with for all those years.
“Since I took the chief's role, he would stop in. He maintained a really close relationship with a lot of our staff, and he would come in and visit on Fridays and try to get the opportunity to chat with them sometimes just listen for the history of the department but have some good chats with him … definitely a mentor.”
Cayley described the late chief as a stoic person who often imparted sound wisdom to those who took the time to listen.
“When he spoke to you, you wanted to pay attention because you knew something good was coming. He was very, very dedicated and a caring man as well. I mean, he just loved his firefighters,” he said.
Gravenhurst mayor Heidi Lorenz offered the municipality’s condolences to the late chief’s family.
“Chief McNeice was a caring and highly dedicated member of the fire department and served as a valued mentor to many of our firefighters. He was also greatly respected throughout the Ontario fire service,” she said, adding he would be “remembered for his leadership and tremendous commitment to our community.”