By Mike Peters
The Rocky Mountain News
GREELEY, Colo. — "Dispatch calling Capt. Shane Stewart . . ."
The words of Weld County dispatcher Ron Gies echoed over the radios Thursday afternoon at the Eaton Cemetery as hundreds of people stood in silence.
"Dispatch calling Capt. Shane Stewart . . ."
The words came again as the last call for Stewart, who died Saturday in a firetruck on his way to an emergency call.
It was the end of the ceremonious day for the family and friends of Stewart, who was laid to rest after an extensive funeral and procession from the Union Colony Civic Center in Greeley to the Eaton Cemetery.
An estimated 1,300 people — including about 500 firefighters from around Colorado and Wyoming — attended Stewart's funeral Thursday morning. More than 100 firetrucks, ambulances, police cars and even Colorado Department of Transportation snowplows were in the mile-long procession.
Stewart was a driver for CDOT, in addition to being a volunteer firefighter for the Ault-Pierce department and a wrestling coach for his hometown of Pierce.
It was one of the largest funerals in the area's history. Two firefighters stood at parade rest at each end of the flag-draped casket, and each held a fire ax.
Nearby sat Stewart's bunker coat, his last name showing on the back, and his red firefighter helmet. Bagpipes and a drummer played at the side of the stage.
In a service led by the Rev. Erik Karas of the Faith Lutheran Church in Eaton, friends told stories of Stewart, bringing tears and laughter from the crowd.
Karas told the story of a snowy night out on the plains of Weld County, where a police officer sat in a patrol car. "Shane was out in a snowplow that night and snuck up behind the patrol car, his lights out. When Shane got close behind the car, he hit his lights and horn and scared the living crap out of the cop."
His close friend and former fire chief Larry Sheets talked of Stewart, his hunting ("one duck in two years") and his family's dedication. "It was a great privilege to have Shane, his brother, Sean, and father, Paul, serving on our department," Sheets said with a broken voice. "Shane paid the ultimate sacrifice for his service."
At the cemetery, hundreds came to the procession of trucks and ambulances and patrol cars.
The flag was folded and given to Stewart's wife, Cyndee, and his helmet to his sons, Blake, 9, and Logan, 7.
At the end of the ceremony, Gies' voice cracked over the police radio: "No response from Capt. Stewart . . . Godspeed and God bless. You will be missed."
Copyright 2008 Denver Publishing Company
