(Remsen) — St. Mary’s Catholic Church in Remsen was filled as firefighters, EMT’s and other public officials, family, friends and community members paid their last respects for Remsen Fire Chief Kevin Ortmann. Ortmann died Sunday from brain cancer. He was 40 years old. During the funeral services, Le Mars
Fire Chief and president of the Iowa Association of Fire Chiefs, Dave Schipper, along with the Harlan Fire Chief, and Vice President of the Iowa Association of Fire Chiefs, Roger Bissen, and retired Captain, Doug Harms of the Le Mars Fire Department followed tradition by ringing the bell acknowledging the death of a firefighter. Schipper struck the bell for five rings…with a series of four separate times as the signal to indicate a
firefighter has returned home. Firefighters and EMT officials stood at attention on both sides of the sidewalk as Ortmann’s body was carried from the church to a fire truck. Ortmann’s casket was loaded on to an old 1933 fire truck as the funeral procession consisted of Remsen Police, Remsen Ambulance vehicles, and a long series of fire trucks from Remsen, Oyens,
Marcus, Hinton, Kingsley, Granville, Akron, Merrill, Harlan, and Le Mars. The funeral procession passed by the Remsen Fire Station and the Remsen Ambulance Building before heading to the Remsen Cemetery. Stockton’s Towing Service was displaying the American Flag high above Highway 3 as the funeral procession passed underneath. At the cemetery, Le Mars Fire and Rescue Department had its aerial truck with the extended
ladder also flying a large American flag above the cemetery.
Remsen Fire Chief and EMT Volunteer, Kevin Ortmann’s last page:
