Memorial Day ceremony to honor Lake Valley Firefighter Larry Stewart

Lake Valley firefighter Larry Stewart was on his way to a fire at Camp Richardson on Friday July 3, 1964 when the water tender truck he was driving ran into a tree. He died two days later.

On Memorial Day, 2018, Stewart will be dedicated on the Public Safety Wall of Honor during a ceremony at Happy Homestead Cemetery. The ceremony begins at 11:00 a.m.

In 2017, the first ceremony was held and the names of US Forest Service-Tahoe Basin Firefighter Mikey Hallenbeck and Lake Valley Fire Protection District (LVFPD) irefighter Mitch Underhill were permanently etched on the Wall.

At the time of the 1964 accident, Firefighters Jim Stevens and Larry Stewart were responding to a fire incident in Camp Richardson in a water tender (which at the time was referred to as a tanker truck.) The truck swerved to miss an oncoming car that had not pulled off the roadway enough for the truck to pass safely. As Stevens turned the huge tanker to the right, one of the truck's ladders caught a low tree branch and sent the truck head on into a two-foot wide tree off the narrow roadway (according to a new story that day).

The local community rallied around Firefighter Stewart, his wife Glenda and their 3-month-old daughter Elizabeth Carol. At the time of his death, the Stewarts were building their home in Tahoe Valley.

Barton Memorial staff worked tirelessly to save Firefighter Stewart, administering over 14 pints of blood. At 1:30 a.m. on July 5, 1964, Stewart passed away. The town and Firefighters were devastated by the loss.

Donations were taken at the Lake Valley Fire District Al Tahoe Station, now the City of South Lake Tahoe Fire and Rescue Station 2, as the community tried to support the Stewart Family and take stock of the accident.

At the time of the accident, Larry’s brother Scotty was also a member of the Lake Valley Fire District. Within months, Scotty Stewart resigned from the Fire District, moving to Goose Lake, Oregon with his wife Sue.

LVFPD has been trying to locate the Stewart family, with no luck.

Firefighter Jim Stevens served the community with the newly formed City of South Lake Tahoe Fire Department in 1966. Retired Lake Valley Fire Chief Jeff Michael stated “Jimmy was never the same guy after that accident- it weighed on him. Likewise, retired Lake Valley Fire Chief Ralph Adams stated he can’t drive by the area in Camp Richardson without being drawn back to July 1964.

Even today, many retired City of South Lake Tahoe and Lake Valley Firefighters, including Assistant Chiefs Rich DeLallo and Don Plummer, fondly recall Larry and Scotty Stewart, the Stewart Family; and the tragedy that was the July 4th weekend of 1964.

Firefighter Lawrence E. Stewart served his Country as a member of the US Army, 34 Infantry. He was born December 30, 1934. His “End of Watch” was July 5, 1964.