Jon Siemers was born September 30‚ 1965‚ in Hays‚ Kansas‚ to Ted and Bev (Kincaid) Siemers. In 1973‚ when Jon was still a boy‚ his family moved to Wyoming. They moved to Clay Center‚ Kansas‚ in 1982‚ after his dad retired from the Union Pacific Railroad.
In 1985‚ Jon married Brenda Jensen; they were married for 24_ years when he died. In 1985‚ Jon and Brenda welcomed their first son‚ Daniel‚ followed by Courtney in 1988‚ and then Adam in 1992. All three of his boys followed in his footsteps‚ becoming members of the Clay Center Fire Department.
Jon joined the National Guard in 1984 and ended his enlistment in 1995. He started working at the city street department in 1987. In 1988‚ he became a volunteer of the Clay Center Fire Department. In 1997‚ he transferred from the street department and became a full-time firefighter. He became chief of the department in 2003‚ where he served until his death in 2010. Jon was also a member of the North Central Kansas Homeland Security Council‚ KSFFA and Clay County Rescue. Along with these‚ he was also the building inspector for the city.
Jon loved his job and helping the community. He enjoyed helping young people in the community learn about fire safety and fire prevention. He was the leader of the Explorer program at the fire department for several years. He also wrote many grants and helped get new tornado sirens for the city.
Jon loved to hunt‚ fish‚ and run cars in the demolition derby. He enjoyed being with his family and took pride in having family dinners on Sunday‚ where he was able to cook for everyone. In July 2008 he became a grandpa‚ which he considered to be one of his proudest moments. He was making plans after his retirement to spend all his time spoiling his grandson.
Jon will be missed by all. He will always be remembered for his great sense of humor‚ his smile‚ and his wave he had for everyone he met.
I’m Jon’s little sister and he has always been my hero. He always had a great smile and a wave for everyone. Jon was a big man with even a big heart. Not a day goes by that I do not miss him. I’m very happy that the last thing we said to each other is I love you!
– Deanna (Dee) Siemers Hess