All over town, traffic and people stopped and watched the funeral procession for Etowah-Horse Shoe Volunteer Fire Department Chief Donald L. Gash.
"I hope when my day comes, they do it for me," Gerton Fire Department Chief Jay Alley said of the services for Gash. "We're all brothers and it's the highest respects you can pay to a fallen brother."
Gash's remains were found last week near his home at 383 S. Rugby Road and strewn along the Blue Ridge Parkway in Buncombe County. An autopsy determined Gash died from a blow to the head.
His wife, 50-year-old Gail Christine Hutchinson Gash, was charged with murder in his death. Authorities have named the couple's son, 31-year-old Donald Edward Gash, as a suspect in the case. He is scheduled to be fingerprinted and photographed today at the Henderson County Magistrate's Office.
Gail Gash remained in Henderson County's jail Sunday under no bond and did not attend her husband's funeral.
The son, known as Donn Gash, attended the funeral with his sister, Jennifer Leslie Gash, and other members of the family. Henderson County Sheriff's Department detectives investigating Gash's death also went to the funeral at Shaw's Creek Campground Cemetery on Broyles Road. They stood near where the family sat in seats the funeral home placed under a tent and watched Donn Gash as he comforted his sister during the services.
The family went to Forest Lawn Memorial Park on Tracy Grove Road, where the funeral procession to the Shaw's Creek cemetery began, and watched as firefighters lifted Gash's American flag-draped coffin to the top of an Etowah-Horse Shoe fire engine. Alley and other members of the Henderson County Fire and Rescue Association Honor Guard stood at attention while the coffin was carried from inside the funeral home to the waiting fire engine.
Donn Gash hugged and spoke with family members before his father's remains were placed on the fire engine. Two men who identified themselves as members of the family pushed away a reporter who tried to speak with Donn Gash.
With lights flashing, fire engines from Etowah-Horse Shoe and Mills River fire departments and police cars from the Hendersonville Police Department and the Henderson County Sheriff's Department led the funeral procession from the funeral home on Tracy Grove Road to Martin Luther King Boulevard, where at least 50 fire engines from departments in Henderson County, Buncombe County, Transylvania County and other area jurisdictions joined the procession. Many private vehicles also traveled in the procession to Broyles Road.
Traffic along Tracy Grove Road, Martin Luther King Boulevard and U.S. 64 West stopped and waited as the long procession passed. Firefighters, police officers and emergency medical workers blocked most intersections along the procession route. Many saluted and others covered their hearts as the engine carrying Gash's remains made its way to the cemetery.
Pedestrians on the sidewalks and in parking lots also stood still and watched the many fire engines pass. Some of those people covered their hearts.
An estimated 400 to 500 people gathered in Shaw's Creek hillside cemetery and stood quietly as firefighters lowered the coffin from the fire engine. Gash's fire department helmet was placed on top of the coffin after it was lowered from the fire engine. The honor guard again stood at attention as firefighters carried the coffin to the grave.
David Fowler, the assistant chief at Mills River Fire Department, said he came to the services to show his support for a fellow firefighter.
"This is a brotherhood," he said. "What happens to one, we all feel it, and we try to show up. It shows support for the fire department that's lost a valuable member and the family."
Gash, who was 48 years old when he died, joined the Etowah fire department in 1980 and was its current chief. He was active in the Henderson County Firemen's Association and had been a delegate in the WNC Firemen's Association, among other responsibilities he took on during his years with the department.
He was also active in the West Henderson Youth Football Association and the WNC Youth Football Association.
Britt Gordon, chief of the honor guard and a chaplain at Blue Ridge Fire Department, told mourners who stood in a chilly wind at Shaw's Creek that Gash loved children and the people in his community.
"We need to love one another," he said. "He did a lot in his community, a lot for his community."
The honor guard presented Gash's daughter with the flag that draped her father's coffin.
Etowah-Horse Shoe Fire Department Assistant Chief Mike Huggins spoke to Donn and Jennifer Leslie Gash as he presented them with Gash's helmet. His voice broke several times and he appeared to choke back tears.
"The untimely death of your father has left a great hole ... in this department that will never be filled," he said. "We lost a brother and friend. He was our leader. On behalf of the 24 years he spent pouring his heart out ... it is my great honor to present y'all with his helmet."
Gash's daughter sobbed after taking the helmet. Donn Gash put his arm around his sister and buried his face in her shoulder for a time before wiping his eyes.
After the firefighters concluded the service, Gash's daughter trembled as she read a statement about her father. She described him as a hero who sacrificed himself for others.
"You're a role model who has saved many lives," she said.
Don Taws, a retired minister who lives in Etowah, played Going Home and Amazing Grace on his bagpipes during the beginning and end of the service.
After the service, many firefighters, including Henderson County Fire Marshal Rocky Hyder, stood talking with one another while mourners shook hands with the family and members of Etowah's fire department.
Hyder said he had known Gash for about 12 years.
"The thing I remember most about Don, after 20 years in the business he had a lot of enthusiasm. He had enthusiasm for fire prevention," Hyder said. "It showed me how much he cared about his community."
