SEASIDE Funeral services and a public procession are scheduled May 21 for long time Seaside resident and community volunteer Glenn Bard who passed away May 9. Bard was 79.

The memorial begins at the Cannon Beach Community Presbyterian Church at 132 E. Washington May 21 at 11 a.m. At 1 p.m. those attending the memorial will meet at the North Coast Fellowship Church at 2245 North Wahanna Road in Seaside to join a procession to Ocean View Cemetery in Warrenton. Grave services will be held at 2 p.m. A reception will be held at 4 p.m. at the North Coast Fellowship Church.

Richard Bard remembers his father as a kind and generous man.

I remember his willingness to take everybody at face value, he said. My dad had a big heart and would help anybody that needed it regardless of who they were. He would be there for them. I truly admired that quality.

One memory that is prominent for Richard is his fathers efforts with Seaside Kids, Inc.

He started helping the group when I started playing baseball with Seaside Kids in 1972 and he never left.

Bards health forced him to give up managing the concession stands at the playing fields in Seaside about a year ago

He taught me how to treat people and he instilled good morals in me, Bard said. When I was younger I tended to get into trouble quite a bit, but I grew up to appreciate everything that he had taught me.

Bard served as a member of the Seaside Fire and Rescue Department for over 50 years.

Karna Kupples, at Seaside Fire and Rescue, said Bard was well known and well liked in the community.

“He had a kind heart and was one of the most positive persons I have met,” she said.”He would do anything for anybody.”

“Glenn was the kind of guy who talked from his heart,” said Chris Dugan at Seaside Fire and Rescue. “You won’t know a more honest, more caring, more giving individual than Glen Bard.”

Dugan said Bard was well respected at the department.

“When Glenn talked, everyone stopped to listen,” Dugan said.

Doug Barker, events coordinator at the Seaside Chamber of Commerce and a volunteer with Seaside Fire and Rescue, said Bard was a quiet man.

“Glenn worked hard for the community,” Barker said. “He volunteered with Seaside Kids and the South County Food Bank forever. I turned him down when he asked me to join the Seaside Fire Department, but later I changed my mind.”

Seaside City Manager Mark Winstanley knew Bard most of his life.

“He epitomized what the community was all about, Winstanley said. Glenn loved this community. He will be missed.”

During a Seaside City Council meeting in June 2011, Fire Chief Dale Kamrath awarded Bard with a plaque to honor Bard’s 50 years of service as a volunteer firefighter. Those present included more than 20 of Bard’s fellow volunteer firefighters who stood along the back wall in support and appreciation of his dedication to the department.

“It is a privilege and honor to present an individual in this community who has served the Seaside Fire Department for 50 years this August,” Kamrath said during the presentation.

Bard started making fire calls in Seaside as a volunteer on Aug. 17, 1961 and over the years served in several capacities within the department, including as a lieutenant and the department’s chaplain.

“At age 78, he responded to 207 alarms last year and attended 23 drills,” said Kamrath, who noted Bard has also been active in the community working with the Seaside Food Bank, delivering meals through the Meals on Wheels program, as a longtime member of Seaside Kids and serving as a community Santa. In 2009, he received the Seaside Chamber’s Lifetime Achievement award.

“As a coach for baseball, he was a favorite,” Kamrath said. “Without his involvement in Seaside Kids, it wouldn’t be what it is today without him.”

“I want to thank all the people in Seaside that let me do this stuff,” Bard told the audience. “It was not me, just one person. It’s everyone.”

© 2012 Seaside Signal. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.