Illinois Widow Recalls Firefighter's Death, 46 Years On

Jan. 17, 2013
Forty-six years ago today, Springfield was staggered by one of the worst fires in its history. The fire at Springfield Builder's Supply Co.took the life of Springfield Fire Dept. Capt. Donald Newquist.

Forty-six years ago today, Springfield was staggered by one of the worst fires in its history. The fire at Spring-field Builder's Supply Co., 19th and Mason streets, took the life of Springfield Fire Dept. Capt. Donald Newquist and sent four other firefighters to the hospital.

To this day, Newquist's widow, Mary Ann, dreads the sound of a fire truck's siren.

"It's been 46 years and, still, when I hear a fire truck, I lose it," says Mary Ann, who is 81 and still lives in Springfield. "I should be over it, but when I see a truck going to a fire, it's a reminder."

The fire was discovered by lumber yard night watchman John Young at 10:30 at night on Jan. 16, 1967. All that wood went up fast, and winds of 20-25 mph only made it burn faster. All available Spring-field trucks and men responded, along with fire departments from surrounding communities. Flames and sparks reached 100 feet in the air.

Newquist, 40, was killed when a wall collapsed on him. Springfield firefighters Allan Mounce, Ray Ciuff etelli, Thomas Blough and Charles Koke were hurt, some when the wall fell and others after they rushed in to dig out their fellow firefighters.

Newquist was a 17-year veteran and a rising star in the fire department in the 1960s. He was captain of Firehouse No. 5, was politically connected and was even rumored to be chief material.

Coverage in the next day's paper took up the entire front page. Fire Com. Dwight O'Keefe supplied the headline for one of our stories when, shaken by Newquist's death, the only thing he could say was, "Newquist was a hell of a man."

It had been 22 years since a Springfield firefighter had been killed in the line of duty. That is still the longest stretch between line-of-duty deaths for the department.

Don and Mary Ann had been married 15 years. Mary Ann was left with two small children. A son, Brian, was 6 years old. His sister, Laura, was 6 months. Both still live and work in Springfield. Neither has any memories of their father.

But there is a plaque in his honor at city hall. And there is a valentine.

In an eerie twist, Don had already bought his daughter a card for her first Valentine's Day. He wrote a short note and signed it, intending to give it to her on Feb. 14. The card is in a scrap-book Mary Ann keeps at her Springfield home. In the scrapbook is a flower from Don's casket, newspaper clippings and letters of condolence from then-mayor Nelson Howarth, from other fire departments, including Chicago's, and a form letter of sympathy from President Lyndon Johnson.

Mary Ann was left with nothing in benefits but Don's small fire department pension.

"People think I was taken care of pretty well," she says, "that they paid off my house and everything. I got very little. Things were different back then. They didn't do anything like they do now."

The cause of the fire was never determined. The authorities suspected arson, but were never able to confirm it.

Mary Ann later sued Barker-Lubin, owners of the lumber yard, for negligence, asking just over $350,000 in damages. A jury heard the case but, after eight hours of deliberating, was unable to reach a verdict. At that point, Mary Ann settled out of court for a much smaller sum and went on with her life, raising her son and daughter alone.

She went back to her job at the Illinois treasurer's office when Laura entered kindergarten. Mary Ann worked for the treasurer's office until her retirement in 1997. She never married again, explaining that she was too busy raising the kids and, besides, she could never find anyone to compare to Don.

"I had the best," she says of him.

Mary Ann's brother, Roger Kratochvil, long-time coach and school principal, still lives in their hometown of Mount Olive. He alerted me to today's anniversary of the fire and suggested I talk with Mary Ann.

As I was looking through material on the fire and its aftermath, I came across something that explains why I would revisit Don's death today. It was something that was said at one of the tributes to him after his death. There is no record of who said this, but here it is:

"And so the tragedy we face today is not a tragedy for our beloved Donald Newquist, but is really the tragedy of his widow, his children, his parents and family, and these words can be of little real solace to them unless, as a community, we can assure them that the memory of Donald Newquist - his exemplary character - will not be forgotten."

Know of something quirky? Emotional? Funny? Inspiring? Dave Bakke is your man and his deadline is always near. Pitch your idea to him at [email protected] or at 788-1541. His column appears Wednesday, Friday and Sunday. To read more, visit www.sj-r.com/bakke.

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