Ohio Townspeople Commend Deceased Firefighter-EMT

Jan. 11--Amy Cupples had a big heart. She loved her family and she loved serving her community as a firefighter-EMT with Erie Valley Fire and Rescue.

"She's my best friend," Mike Cupples, her husband of four years, said. "She's a great mother to her children, a great daughter, a great sister. She devoted her life to family and the fire department."

Cupples, 41, died Saturday of complications related to a recent surgery. On Dec. 5, her husband's birthday, she had an aortic valve replaced.

Before the establishment of Erie Valley about a year ago, she served for eight years on the Navarre Fire Department.

Erie Valley Fire and Rescue Chief Rick Annen said Cupples responded to more than 80 percent of the calls the department answered last year. She also was involved in just about every aspect of the department including fundraising.

"It's going to take five people to replace her, but no one can," Annen said. "She was one of the most caring people you could ever meet. She really cared about the fire service and the community. She had two families, her personal family and her fire family."

Cupples, Annen said, decorated the station, and his office, for every holiday.

Navarre Mayor Bob Benson has known Cupples for many years. He performed the Cupples' marriage July 28, 2012.

"You never expect something like this to happen," Benson said. "We were just not ready for it. During the annual Christmas dinner we prayed for Amy and her family. Even during the prayer, I thought, she's going to get better. She's tough. My heart goes out to Mike and their children. They were so in love."

The Cupples have seven children ranging in age from 9 to 22.

Benson said the loss is hard for the entire community and for Cupples' extended family at Erie Valley.

During her illness, Benson said, fellow firefighters crowded the hospital waiting to hear how she was doing. The chief, he said, had to make personnel return to staff the fire station.

"It's a tragedy for the department, but as the chief says, it is really bringing them together as a family," Benson said. "That's real important. The department was strong before, but this really holds them together as a family."

Her husband, who serves as an assistant chief at Erie Valley, said his wife wanted to help people.

"She loved both sides (of the service), but EMS was her passion," he said. "She was so proud of her work). She was passionate about the fire department and the big family we have with the fire department. She is very proud of Erie Valley Fire and Rescue."

A 1993 graduate of Fairless High School, Cupples received cosmetology training at R.G. Drage and worked for several different salons throughout the area before attending fire science and EMT training at Buckeye Career Center.

According to her obituary, "she found purpose and passion in serving her neighbors and friends as a firefighter and EMT with Erie Valley Fire and Rescue. Her life was her family and the department -- period. And Amy didn't divide her love. She multiplied it. So together they received her total commitment, her energy, her sweat and her heart."

Family will accept friends from 3 to 5 p.m. Thursday at the Erie Valley Fire and Rescue station (the former Navarre Fire Department), 99 West Canal St., Navarre. Services begin at 5 p.m. with a Last Alarm ceremony at 5:15 p.m. Friends are invited to join the family at 6 p.m. at the Bethlehem Township Fire Station, 1919 Eighth St. Burial will follow at 11 a.m. Friday at Dundee Cemetery.

Donations for the family can be sent in care of the fire department to 99 W. Canal St., Navarre, OH 44662.

Reach Amy at 330-775-1135 or amy.knapp@indeonline.com.

On Twitter: @aknappINDE

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