Victor "Vic" Einspahr

Victor "Vic" Einspahr, a beloved member of the Beeville community, passed away Saturday, December 23, 2023, at the age of 82. He will be remembered for his numerous contributions and dedication to the fire service and his country.

Born on March 20, 1941, in Wauneta, Nebraska, to Richard and Edna (Hogsett) Einspahr, Vic’s passion for firefighting began at a young age. He was an Eagle Scout and graduated from Hastings High School in Hastings, Nebraska. He married Connie Lee Malone in Hastings. To this union were born three children, Marilyn, Bernice and Richard. The couple later divorced prior to his departure to Japan for seven years where he met and married Mieko.

Vic later returned to Beeville and worked on many adventures including but not limited to serving Beeville Ambulance Department, the Beeville Fire Department, Beeville Masonic Lodge, Texas A&M Fire School as a fire instructor, Red Cross CPR instructor and serving his country. He was also an active member of First Christian Church.

For 15 years, Vic held the position of secretary/treasurer for the Bee County Fire Protection Association and 18 years for the Guadalupe Fire Fighters' and Fire Marshals' Association Inc.

He was a dedicated member of the State Firemen's and Fire Marshals' Association for more than 20 years where he served as a timekeeper/records keeper as well as instructor trainer for first aid and CPR of the American Red Cross for an impressive 28 years as well as being board member and chairman. In addition, he was an active member of the South Texas Chiefs Fire Officers Association. As a respected instructor at Texas A&M for 26 years, Vic taught at various fire schools throughout the region which included conducting weekly spring schools each year in March and July. He also coordinated firefighting schools in Refugio and Beeville while serving as an instructor.

Vic played an instrumental role in obtaining scholarships for Beeville firefighters to attend Texas A&M's annual fire school. He took great pride being chairman of the annual fire prevention poster contest where he dedicated two weeks each year during Fire Prevention Week to teach local youth about fire prevention. He was past president of the Guadalupe Fire Fighters’ and Fire Marshals’ Association. Vic held several positions within the Beeville VFD during his 26-year tenure including 1st engineer, 2nd engineer, lieutenant, captain and public relations officer.

His commitment to serving the community was truly commendable not only as a firefighter but also his commitment of 20 years to the United States Navy. Furthermore, he retired with 20 years of dedicated service at the Civil Service Fire Department at NAS Chase Field and NAS Kingsville.

Vic was well-known around town during the holiday season spreading the magic of Christmas to young and old alike.

He was preceded in death by his parents and his wives.

Survivors include his three children, Marilyn (Martin) Meyer of Hastings, Nebraska, Bernice (LaVern) Meyer of Blue Hill, Nebraska and Richard (Nicole) Einspahr of Sterling, Nebraska; five grandchildren, Dawn (Dan) Krull of Harvard, Nebraska, Robert (Megan) Meyer of Jacksonville, Florida, Kelli (Greg) Nolte of Hastings, Nebraska, David (Erica) Meyer of Chester, Nebraska and Chelsea (Dan) Siekman of Waverly, Nebraska; nine great-grandchildren, Caden Boyer, Cooper Meyer, Caya Derricks, Milayna Krull, Johnny Krull, Natalie Siekman, Brett Meyer, Anthony Meyer and Faith Meyer; two sisters, Sandi (Paul) Hapke of Las Vegas, Nevada and Marlene (Gene) Merritt of Umatilla, Oregon; two brothers, Kenny Parrish and Billy Hoag, both of Umatilla Oregon; and numerous other relatives and wonderful friends.

The visitation will be held from 5 to 7 p.m. Thursday, December 28, at Galloway & Sons Funeral Home.

The funeral service will be conducted at 11 a.m. Friday, December 29, at First Christian Church with Rev. Maggie Mossler officiating.

Burial will be at Sunset Memorial Gardens in Hastings, Nebraska at 1 p.m. January 5, 2024.

Pallbearers will be Rich Einspahr, Marty Meyer, LaVern Meyer, Dan Krull, Caden Boyer and Cooper Meyer.