George Simington

It is the end of an era. September 22, 2022, we lost a special member of the Indianapolis Fire Department Family and the Indianapolis Professional Firefighters Union Local 416: George Simington. George passed away at the age of 80, having just celebrated his birthday on September 17th. George was born at City Hospital and was a lifetime resident of Indianapolis. He became a fixture on the Indianapolis Fire Department when he was about 10 years old. Captain Gene Haley of Fire Station #2, then located at 16th Street and Roosevelt Ave, noticed George was spending time observing the Fire House from across the street outside Lorenzano’s Grocery Store. Captain Haley invited young George over to the Fire House and, as you would expect, George charmed the firefighters. He quickly became part of the team and a member of the IFD Family. IFD, Captain Bob Little and Captain Bob Morgan and their families have been important to George. These two along with their wives made sure George’s physical and emotional needs were met. For many years George attended Holidays with Bob and Beverly Little and their families and would often spend time with Bob and Harriet Morgan’s Family. As time went on, George became an important member of a number of IFD stations, including Stations 5, 7, 22, 29, and 13 to mention a few. He worked at the Union Hall and the Credit Union and attended as many events as he could. George showed up at St Patrick’s Day celebrations, retiree lunches, union meetings, FDIC, and, like a good firefighter, anywhere there was a free lunch. On Tuesday September 20, 2022, George made one last run, picked up by IFD Squad 7 to attend Retiree Night with all his friends. George made the Indianapolis Fire Departments a better place to work, he made every fire house he visited a little more joyous, and made everyone he encountered a better person. We cannot mention every firefighter that helped George over his 70 years as a member of our family or all the people who he helped through his kindness, caring and “HUG WHOOPINGs”. He was a blessing to all of us our firefighter family and our firefighters were a blessing for George. God rest his Big Heart and his soul. George was preceded in death by his Mother Theola Simington, and his Aunt Magdalene and his Grandfather who raised George. He is survived by his nephew Ronald, niece Christina and his loving firefighter family. Visitation will be September 30, 2022 from 9:00 AM – 11:00 AM at Crown Hill Funeral Home 700 W 38th St, Indianapolis, IN 46208. Followed by the Funeral Service at 11:00 AM. A private graveside service will be held for the family. At the conclusion of the Service, we will ask everyone to fall into formation outside the chapel. The Honor Guard will escort George to the Engine to take to him to his final resting place. We will offer a final salute to George. Memorial donations in Memory of George Simington may be made to the Indianapolis Fire Museum and Survive Alive 748 Massachusetts Ave, Indianapolis, IN 46204.