WATSONVILLE—Former Watsonville Fire Assistant Chief Gene Friend, a household name for many in the Pajaro Valley, died March 25 at Valley Convalescent in Watsonville.
Watsonville Fire Station 1 is emblazoned with his name in large letters as the namesake of the Chief Gene Friend Watsonville Fire Museum.
“I saw that they lowered flag to half-staff for a week, and that firefighters were wearing a black band over their badges,” said Ed Banks, former Reserve Firefighter. “It was very emotional to see that and it is very deserving for someone of his stature. I was lucky enough to receive his experience over the years.”
Banks said that the museum being named after Friend was “very fitting.”
“In the mid-80s Gene decided to conjure up various resources to reform the old Fire Station 1,” Banks said. “He was the single biggest force to make sure the museum got put together.”
Watsonville Fire Chief Rudy Lopez said Friend was his Reserve Chief when he was hired in 1990.
“He was a pillar, not only in the department, but also in our community,” Lopez said. “He always had the best interest of our firefighters’ safety. He would take time to talk to us individually and that always meant a lot.”
Lopez said Friend was one of four chiefs during his job interview to become a firefighter.
“That was one of the most important days of my life,” he said. “The thing I’ll always remember is that he was always approachable. In later years, when I brought students to the museum, Gene would always push everything aside to help those students with the tours. He knew the history of that department so well.”
One chunk of history Lopez recalls learning from Friend was of the large bell that is stationed outside the Museum on Rodriguez and Second streets.
“That bell used to be on top of the original fire station,” he said. “It’s a very important part of history.”
Lopez added that it impressed him that Friend would show up at training drills twice a month “to make sure the program was solid; he was very committed,” he said.
Banks said he was impressed with the many hats Friend wore over the years, from a cattle rancher, to chairing a number of boards that dealt with cattle farming and competitions, to working at a hardware store, to running his insurance company for years.
“Gene was man of high integrity,” Banks said. “He would give you the benefits of his advice and experience if you wanted. He was very unpretentious. Gene was deeply committed to his community; he was an all-around good guy.”
