CGFD honors former battalion chief Robert Kembel

Taps echoed from Cape Girardeau Fire Department Station No. 1 Saturday afternoon as the community gathered to remember the life of former battalion chief Robert Kembel.

Kembel, 69, of Oak Ridge died Feb. 18 of a ‘sudden, but massive heart attack,’ according to his wife, Debie.

Kembel served 32 years in the Cape Girardeau Fire Department and retired in 2007 as a battalion chief. He also served eight years in the National Guard.

The fire department held memorial services for Kembel on Saturday, beginning with a procession that started at Arena Park, passed by all Cape Girardeau fire stations and ended at Station No. 1 at 1 S. Sprigg St. for the services. Photos of Kembel, along with some personal items, were displayed all around the station.

The Honor Guard also performed memorial ceremonies, and presented Debie and Robert’s son, Paul, with a United States flag.

Debie Kembel looks out into the distance, tissue in hand, while surrounded by friends, family and community members at the memorial service held for her late husband, Robert, on Saturday at Cape Girardeau Fire Station No. 1. Robert and Debie would have celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary this year.Brooke Holford

“My son has grown up around the fire department ... it’s been just like another family — an extended family, I should say,” Debie said. “And they did this [memorial] for Robert, and such a good crowd came out today — it’s just amazing.”

Debie said she and Robert got married Oct. 30, 1971, in Cape Girardeau, so the two would have celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary this year.

“He was an amazing man — he was the most kindhearted, and he would listen to anyone who needed someone to talk to,” Debie said. “He was a good father and an excellent husband — I couldn’t have asked for a better partner.”