HOUSTON Flags were flown at half staff Thursday, as members of the League City Volunteer Fire Department mourned the loss of one of their own.
His fingerprint on the community will not be forgotten, said Fire Chief Brad Goudie. The League City Volunteer Fire Department grieves deeply today for the loss of a fallen brother. We are not alone in our mourning.
At the age of 62, cadet Donald Mize joined the fire department last month. A picture of health with no history of medical problems, he collapsed after routine training.
It s basic firefighter skills, said Goudie. Dragging hoses, dragging dummies, crawling in and over objects, swinging axes. Basically anything a firefighter would be expected to do.
Mize was many different things to many different people. A public school teacher for three decades, he was more active in retirement than most people half his age.
He was also a newlywed.
We ve been married since January, said widow Teresa Mize. We had plans. We were going to be together. We were going to get old and hold each other up.
Now she s planning a funeral.
