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National Fallen Firefighters Foundation

Roll of Honor

Firefighter/Fire Inspector
Age: 71
Year of Death: 2020

David J. Tomlinson

Dave was born December 3, 1949, in Poynette, Wisconsin. He graduated from Poynette High School in 1968. After graduation, he was drafted into the Army and spent two years serving his country, the last year in Vietnam. He was very proud of being a Vietnam veteran.

He returned to Poynette after his service, married his high school sweetheart, and they had two children who were the apple of his eye. Dave worked for the U.S. Postal Service for 32 years. Even though most of those years he worked the third shift, he still found time to be union president for the post office, coach his son‘s Little League team, and help his daughter with softball before the start of each season.

Dave joined the Poynette-Dekorra Fire Department in 1984. He came from a long line of firemen. His father and brother were both fire chiefs, and many other family members were in the department. Dave served on the department for 31 years and was treasurer for many years. He was awarded Fireman of the Year in 1989. His last several years he was also appointed fire inspector. He took great pride in the bi-yearly inspections he always completed. One of his favorite times of the year was Fire Prevention Week. He loved having the elementary school kids come up to the fire station so he could show them the duties of being a fireman.

Dave loved his family and especially his four grandsons. He coached his grandsons’ baseball teams and never missed a basketball game or tournament. He was known at the games as the stat man. He could be seen carrying his clipboard around and keeping track of all points and plays throughout the games. He also loved being a Cubs season ticket holder, along with his son. They spent many days at the ballfield and traveled the country going to all the stadiums where the Cubs played.

Dave’s second family was the fire department. He never missed trainings or conferences and always wanted to be the best he could at serving his department, the community, and his fellow firemen. While doing fire inspections in November 2020, he contracted COVID and lost his life on December 6, 2020. Unfortunately, Dave never got the opportunity to receive the vaccine, as it was approved three weeks after his death.

Since his death, he has received many honors and tributes that bring comfort to his wife of 50 years, Jane; daughter, Stacy (Jeff) Rowe and their children, Brandon and Jacob; son, Aaron (Monica) Tomlinson, and their children, Zachary and Noah; and many family members and friends.

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