Firefighter Chris
Trumpf -- mentor, friend and described as
"beloved" by those who knew him -- died
Wednesday afternoon at his home in Myrtle Beach, S.C.
Trumpf, 54, had battled cancer since July 2002. He
had been a full-time member of the Morristown Fire
Department for 25 years.
On Wednesday evening, as word quickly spread among
the firefighters, Trumpf's colleagues and friends in
the fire department hung three purple-and-black
buntings just below the three main windows at the fire
station, a symbol that they have lost one of their
own.
Firefighter Joe SanFelice made sure that he hung
the last piece. He has known Trumpf since Day One,
when they both started in the department.
"A part of us died today," SanFelice
said.
Firefighters reminisced about Trumpf and his
family. SanFelice remembered Christmas parties, where
Trumpf and his wife, Debbie, created Christmas scenes
in each room. SanFelice would call it "Trumpfville."
Firefighter Stuart Williamson remembered Trumpf's
willingness to mentor and assist younger firefighters.
Williamson said Trumpf worked every Christmas morning
when his children were grown so the younger men
wouldn't miss their children opening presents.
"He just said he did it because other guys had
done it for him," Williamson said. "He was
always willing to help, no matter what."
On behalf of the Morristown Fire Department, Capt.
Gary Desjadon said, "One of the greatest things
about him is everybody got treated the same way. He
fought this disease the way he ran his career, with
strength, courage and honor. Chris has been missed
since he has taken on this disease; he's going to be
forever missed now by anybody who knew him."
When the family realized that Trumpf would need a
bone marrow transplant, his daughter, April Tribus,
decided to host a drive to find a donor, either for
him or for some of the 3,000 people on the national
waiting list. She found support from the Morristown
Professional Firefighters, and together they hosted a
blood drive in November 2002 that added 1,200 people
to the national bone marrow registry.
In another example of brotherhood shared by members
of the fire service, the Hawthorne Fire Department
hosted another drive dedicated to Trumpf in January
2003.
Now, as his family prepares to bury Trumpf, members
of a local fire department in South Carolina want to
offer their "brother" a service, Morristown
firefighters said.
Trumpf was a 10-year volunteer firefighter in
Whippany before he was hired in Morristown.
Members of the Morristown Fire Department, Trumpf's
closest friends, traveled to South Carolina last week
to help the family and to say good-bye.
When Trumpf received a bone marrow transplant in
September, he and his family knew there was a 60
percent chance of survival. Without the transplant,
offered by an anonymous donor in Germany, Trumpf's
chances were 10 percent. Trumpf received the
transplant in a Seattle hospital.
When Trumpf's doctors told him that the transplant
needed to be moved up from January 2004 to September
2003, Trumpf told a Daily Record reporter, "It's
just not fitting into my plans."
Trumpf had improved after the transplant, enough so
that he and Debbie could retire and move to their new
home in Myrtle Beach. On May 5, the family learned
that Trumpf's leukemia had returned.
Trumpf's illness had brought the community
together. Hundreds of messages appear on a message
board at www.christrumpf.org, a Web site
designed for Debbie Trumpf to keep the community
updated on Trumpf's recovery and battles -- and for
friends, family and strangers to send messages to the
family.
"I think Chris has been blessed by the love
that surrounds him, but that his own positive and warm
spirit plays a powerful role in drawing that to him in
this world," wrote Morristown resident Doug
Oxenhorn, who had met Trumpf a handful of times.
"To me, it has encouraged the hope that we can
all embrace each other, care for each other, go to
great lengths to make sure that each of us is safe and
well and protected from harm however possible."
Morristown Mayor John "Jay" DeLaney Jr.
described Trumpf as a family man with a wonderful
disposition.
"He was a fabulous firefighter," DeLaney
said. "He was a wonderful man."
Surviving are Trumpf's wife, Debbie, three children
and four grandchildren.
Services have not yet been scheduled.
