The Chief: One of a kind:
Today, we celebrate the life of Kyle John Dawe born July 30th, 1979. Kyle, who called the Town of Rockwood home for his entire life, passed away peacefully in his bed on July 6th, 2021, two and half weeks shy from his 42nd birthday. For those of you who had the privilege to know and spend time with Kyle Dawe, you know that he was “one of a kind”. Being born prematurely at a small but sturdy 2lbs, Kyle entered this world as a born (fire) fighter. As he grew up, there was no hiding the fact that Kyle was different, but his family made the conscious choice to raise Kyle like any other child, undiscouraged by medical conditions, societal norms or community opinions. In doing this, they gifted Kyle a particular set of skills, or as we like to call them: strength and grit. The skills that Kyle developed afforded him a spectacular confidence to chase his passions, ignore the fools and embrace with all his heart those who loved and supported him, and to never take ‘no’ for an answer. Kyle embodied this grit from the time he was a toddler and throughout his entire life.
Kyle was born with a unique gift from his father, Gord, “the gift of the gab”, which is to say that he was definitely not afraid to talk to anyone and everyone - whether he knew them or not. The lifelong connections Kyle made from this skill will endure by the lights of the Rockwood campfires, through whispers and song as people remember the Rockwood Legend of Mr. Kyle Dawe.
In talking to friends of Kyle over the last few days, it’s clear that Kyle gave us all many gifts by which we can remember him: Patience (sometimes), kindness, that “no” could mean yes if you ask enough times, to never judge anyone by their appearance, that no one person is better than another (unless you’re a firefighter, of course), Generosity of spirit and the ability to communicate your emotions clearly and directly (no swearing of course). Perhaps most enduring of all, Kyle showed his small hometown of Rockwood and home county of Wellington that our differences – rather than pulling apart our seams, can be the very thread which stiches a community more tightly together.
Kyles’s passing is a loss experienced not only by his family, but the entire community. Kyle’s laugh, gentle nature, kindness, enthusiasm and love of friends and family will always be remembered. Kyle Dawe is survived by his mother and father (Michele and Gordon Dawe), his brother (Jevan Dawe) his sister (Sydney Fisher) and his brother (Tyler Dawe), his brothers and sisters in law, his many nieces and nephews, his aunts and uncles, his brothers on the fire department and his many, many friends. We take comfort in the fact that Kyle lived his life the way he wanted to, he never asked for much, and was very content with himself and the people with whom he surrounded himself. He lived life with an “if it feels good, do it” mentality, which we feel we could all use a little more of.
Beside his family, friends and his animals, Kyle’s most enduring passion in life was the Fire Department and he was not shy about making it known! Virtually every piece of clothing Kyle owned was emblazoned with Fire regalia and he cherished every piece, so much so that he wore holes in many of them! It’s with the deepest gratitude that we share the heartfelt tribute written by the Guelph/Eramosa Fire Department to honour our Kyle:“Today we lost one of our brothers.
This morning marked the end of watch for Kyle Dawe, who has been an important part of our fire department for 30 years. Kyle was the most enthusiastic member and supporter of our fire department and to say that he will be missed is an extreme understatement. Kyle came to all of our training sessions and would ride his bike to the hall every time the pager went off. He was the first to volunteer to help at our community events and worked tirelessly at them.
Responding to one of our own is the most difficult thing we can do, but we take comfort that Kyle was surrounded by his family as well as his fire family. Our most sincere condolences go out to the Dawe family.
Rest easy Kyle, we'll take it from here. We will remember you always,
Your family at the Guelph Eramosa Fire Department”
Arrangements entrusted to the WALL-CUSTANCE FUNERAL HOME & CHAPEL 519-822-0051 / www.wallcustance.com.
A tree will be planted in memory of Kyle J. Dawe in the Wall-Custance Memorial Forest.