For much of his quarter-century tenure as chief of the Roswell Fire Department from 1958 to 1983, Aubrey Reeves led a force largely made up of volunteers, yet he made this tricky personnel arrangement work.
“The tutelage Chief Reeves gave us made us a much better fire department than one would expect from a volunteer force,” said current Fire Chief Ricky Spencer of Roswell.
He said Chief Reeves was a gentle leader, much respected by the men and women who served under him. “He worked constantly to get us the equipment and the training we needed to do a superior job,” Chief Spencer said.
Chief Spencer recalled an incident 35 years ago when the volunteer system broke down. Several firefighters, himself included, were called to the scene of a vehicle fire, he said, but the person who was supposed to drive the fire truck there never arrived.
“Chief Reeves said he appreciated those of us who showed up and observed it would have been nice if someone had brought the truck,” Chief Spencer said. “He made sure that never happened again.”
Over the years the Roswell Fire Department grew to a professional force of 18 full-time employees and 120 paid part-timers, with seven stations serving Roswell’s 88,000 residents.
Former Roswell Mayor William “Pug” Mabry said Chief Reeves was one of the city’s finest, most dedicated public servants. “In all my 31 years as mayor, I never heard anyone say that first negative thing about his service to the community.”
A longtime friend, Elwyn Gaissart of Roswell, said Chief Reeves led by example and never asked his firefighters to do anything he would not do himself.
To recognize Chief Reeves’ service to his community, the city of Roswell honored him in 2008 by naming its Fire Station No. 1 after him.
His son, Chris Reeves of Woodstock, said Chief Reeves was deeply touched by the tribute and that, years after retiring, his father still enjoyed visiting with firefighters and sharing their camaraderie.
Aubrey Eugene Reeves, 91, died Thursday at his Roswell residence of an allergic reaction to an antibiotic. His funeral will be at 2 p.m. Monday. With Roswell firefighters and police as escorts, his casket will be transported from the Roswell Funeral Home aboard a 1949 fire truck the city keeps as a museum piece, initially to the First Baptist Church of Roswell for the service and then to the Old Roswell Cemetery for burial.
Chief Reeves was born and raised in Roswell and worked as a young man at his father’s grocery, Reeves’ Foodtown. During World War II he served in the U.S. Army; when higher-ups learned he had retail experience, they put him in charge of a post commissary. He was honorably discharged in 1945 as a staff sergeant.
Chris Reeves said his father worked at three jobs for more than 30 years -- operating the grocery store and driving a Fulton County school bus as well as going on fire emergency calls. “Many were the times that Dad would be up most of the night putting out a fire, then would come home and get cleaned up and go out on his bus route, then head for his store. I don’t think he ever missed a day of work.”
In retirement, he stayed busy, serving on the board of directors of the Roswell Housing Authority, and also with Rotary and American Legion activities and at Roswell First Baptist as a deacon.
Margie Reeves, his wife of 44 years, died in 2004.
Survivors also include a daughter, Debbie Henson of Woodstock; three grandchildren; and one great-grandchild.
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