Letter to the Editor: Brian Wolf memorial

Dear Editor: 

I am the mother of Battalion Chief Brian Russell Wolf. I want to respond to the letter written by Fr. John Higgins. 

My son was a third generation Downeyite. He was a devoted firefighter for the city of Downey. When he moved to Big Bear he continued to drive the 2 1/2-hour drive to this community because of his devotion to Downey for over 20 years. 

When he passed unexpectedly due to cancer caused by fighting over 400 fires for the city of Downey, my daughter Aime Wolf went to the mayor, Mario Guerra at the time, to discuss the possibility of a memorial for her brother. She and her sister had a fundraising plan in place to pay for the memorial. 

The mayor said no. The city council at the time was in a conflict over political issues that should not have reflected on the dedication and devotion in fire service to this city by my son. The family of Brian Wolf felt this was retaliation for the political dispute and we decided not to pursue the memorial out of respect for Brian. He was not a man of controversy. 

I thank Fr. Higgins for questioning how the city overlooked my son in providing some kind of memorial to the first firefighter in the city of Downey since the 1950s who lost his life on the job. 

Gayla Wolf Rudolph