A fallen firefighter has been forever memorialized.
The Rockingham Fire Department and Richmond County Hospice worked together to dedicate a flower and vegetable garden to remember Ed “Big Ed” Hairfield, an engineer for RFD and deputy chief of Richmond County Rescue Squad, who passed away in March after a battle with pancreatic cancer.
The flourishing garden, situated behind Hospice’s main office next to memorials of other Hospice residents, is now sprawling with an assortment of flowers and vegetables, including lavender plants, eggplant, tomatoes and yellow bell peppers.
“We sat down with his brother, Larry, and we talked to him about it and we were all in consensus,” said Fire Chief Harold Isler. “Let’s get something out here at [Richmond County Hospice] because they were so good to him. (They) were outstanding as far as his care and taking care of him.”