John Wesley Schwartz struck up a friendship with Terry DeVore that led to him joining the Olney Springs Volunteer Fire Department.
Both died Tuesday when a bridge collapsed as they rushed to fight a blaze that was threatening nearby Ordway.
Schwartz, 38, who was raising four young boys on his own, met DeVore at the Arkansas Valley Correctional Facility, where both worked as corrections officers.
“They were good friends. They just barbecued together a week or so ago,” said Schwartz’s mother, Toni Schwartz.
DeVore, who was recently elected Olney Springs fire chief, got Schwartz interested in volunteering, said Schwartz’s father, John. “He was excited about volunteering. He thought he would be able to help the community.”
Wes, as he was known to his parents, was a U.S. Air Force mechanic on B-1 bombers who served in Saudi Arabia during the Gulf War.
When he finished his hitch, he worked as a diesel mechanic and truck driver.
He went to work for the Department of Corrections last year and lived on a 43-acre patch of land, where he raised livestock.
Schwartz was divorced, and his children range in age from 4 to 15 years old. “He lived for his boys. He took them hunting, shooting and fishing,” said Toni Schwartz.
The children are “torn up,” she added. “It is hard when they are that young, and they lose Daddy.”
Schwartz grew up in Pueblo but wanted his sons to live a more rural lifestyle. “He always liked it out here, away from the bigger cities. He wanted to raise his boys away from the bigger towns,” his mother said.
“He was a damned good man,” his father said.
Tom McGhee: 303-954-1671 or tmcghee@denverpost.com
