Maurice “Mo” Stadeli was a dedicated husband and father to his sons, Jeremy and Tony, and his daughter, Anjel. He and his wife, Tina, were married for 33½ years at the time of his passing. Mo and Tina were foster parents for the State of Oregon for 15 plus years. Mo was a devoted family man and cared deeply for his fellow human beings.

Mo was a firefighter/paramedic with the City of Salem Fire Department, IAFF Local 314. He started his career with Salem in 1992. Mo worked at Salem Fire Station #6, which served as the ARFF response for Salem’s airport and the surrounding residential and commercial district off the airport. Mo was ARFF certified and was the department’s hose repair technician. Additionally, Mo was our Station #6 cat meat representative. What’s a cat meat representative? Ask any Salem firefighter.

Mo was the epitome of a civil servant, always looking for ways to assist members of the public and his fellow firefighters above and beyond what was expected. He did so because he wanted to. That’s who Mo was.

An example of Mo’s selflessness is the time we responded to a disabled vehicle on the freeway. A young couple traveling through our city broke down. They kept repairing a part on their vehicle until it was no longer reparable. They had not nearly enough money to pay for the part. Mo went to the auto parts store, bought the part, and wouldn’t let us help him cover the cost. It wasn’t much, but it helped them get on their way. That’s who Mo was.

Mo carried that same attitude and effort for his fellow firefighters. Whenever somebody brought turnouts to our station to be laundered or a hose to be repaired, he jumped right on it for them. When we ran out of station supplies, many times he would go right after shift and shop for something that could have waited. He didn’t want his brothers and sisters to go without. That’s who Mo was

Mo was a curious man. There wasn’t a shiny piece of equipment that he didn’t like. If we went to the Cat dealership, he would get lost in all the fantastic new shiny equipment. He was like a kid in a candy store. Interesting planes would come into the airport, and he was fascinated with them with a sense of wonderment. That is who Mo was.

Mo was proud to call himself a firefighter and paramedic and was even prouder to be a Salem firefighter. It was an honor to serve the citizens of Salem with Mo and an even greater honor to call Mo our friend. He will be missed but not forgotten. Rest in Peace, Brother Mo.