WHITEHOUSE, Ohio -- Firefighters here are mourning the loss of their captain.

Firefighter/Paramedic Gary L. Studer died Saturday, June 28 of complications related to a stroke.

When he failed to answer an alarm at 1:30 a.m. on June 20, his partner found him unconscious in his bunk at the Whitehouse fire station, said Chief Daryl McNutt.

Studer, 61, was rushed to St. Luke's Hospital.

The retired fire chief of the Air National Guard in Toledo had been with the Whitehouse Fire Department for 30 years.

"He was our training officer, and handled all our maintenance on the vehicles," McNutt said. "He was here all the time. He will be missed. He was here every day."

McNutt said members of the combination department are doing as well as can be expected. Firefighters from neighboring jurisdictions will be handling calls Thursday while Whitehouse crews bid their comrade a final farewell.

Funeral Information

Visitation will be held from 7 p.m. to 9 p.m. Tuesday, and 2 p.m. to 9 p.m. Wednesday at Peinert Funeral Home, Whitehouse, Ohio.

Funeral services will be held at 10:30 a.m. Thursday, July 3 at the fire station.

Information about staging can be obtained from Whitehouse Fire Dept. at 419-877-0363.