County of Dept;: Etowah County
Location of dept.: Gadsden/ Blountsville RD., Walnut Grove
(205) 589-6400
Established: 1986
“Walnut Grove won’t be the same,” Town Clerk Kelly Hollingsworth said after the death of longtime Councilman and Fire Chief Alvin Goolsby.
"Goolsby, 67, died Wednesday. He had been diagnosed some time ago with acute myeloid leukemia, Hollingsworth said.
"This month marked Goolsby’s 30th year as a Walnut Grove councilman. He supervised the town’s volunteer fire department and had been its chief for almost that long.
"Walnut Grove Mayor Autry Works praised Goolsby. “He was an outstanding fire chief and an outstanding councilman,” Works said. “He never missed a meeting.
'“Alvin was kind of like the father of our town, as far as the fire department went,” he said. “He took care of everyone. Whenever there was a call, he never failed. If someone needed their blood pressure checked at 2 in the morning, he’d go and he’d never grumble about it, even though he had a job.“
"Goolsby served as a member of the E911 board, Hollingsworth said, and was on the 310 Board. He was retired from the U.S. Post Office and was a Vietnam veteran.
'“He was the best” to work with, she said.
"Works said, “He loved Walnut Grove. He had to, to do all that he did for our town.“
"Robin Grant, an investigator with the Etowah County Sheriff’s Office, said Goolsby was a longtime friend and a true servant of the people in his community.
"He said he visited with Goolsby recently, and asked him if he had any idea how many calls he might have answered in his years as a volunteer firefighter and medic.
'“He thought about it, and he couldn’t even come up with a guess,” Grant said.
"Goolsby would often respond to calls that would end up being elderly folks, especially women, who heard something at their house or felt like they might pass out. “He would go check on them and just talk them back to sleep,” Grant said. “He was always calm and patient.“
"Grant said thinking of Goolsby made him feel bad about not being more patient with people.
"He said Goolsby helped build the Walnut Grove Fire Department into one of the county’s best. Any kind of training the state fire college offered, he said, Goolsby tried to make available to the department members.
"Works credited Goolsby with making the department the county’s best equipped.
"Hollingsworth said in addition to being chief, Goolsby did fundraising and the daily work for the department, even down to washing trucks.
"Richard Crouch served with Goolsby on Etowah County’s E911 Board and witnessed his commitment to the board.
'“He was very knowledgeable about 911. He knew the issues,” Crouch said. “He did a fantastic job, even in the last few months when he was not feeling well. There were meetings when you could tell he shouldn’t be there.“
"But there Goolsby was, Crouch said, serving the county.
“I had a lot of respect for him for that,” he said.
"Goolsby was fun to work with, too, Crouch said. “He had a very dry sense of humor, and he used it liberally.“
"Tim Crow has been chief of the Altoona Volunteer Fire Department since June and worked with Goolsby as the two departments assisted each other on calls. Goolsby, he said, was the backbone of Walnut Grove’s department.
"Crow said he was at the Rainbow City Fire Department when he first came to know Goolsby.
'“He used to come sit with us and drink coffee when he got off work at the post office,” he recalled. The acquaintance continued as both men served the people of west Etowah County.
"Goolsby made Walnut Grove’s department a great one, Crow said, which is important in a rural area.
'“In small towns like this, it’s a family,” he said.
And Goolsby’s role in that family extended beyond the fire department.
'“He was a great man,” Crow said. “He was a pillar of the community.“
"Works said, “I don’t think he can ever be replaced.“
"Goolsby’s funeral will be at 11 a.m. Saturday at Walnut Grove Baptist Church, where he was a member. Burial will be in Cornelius Cemetery in Walnut Grove.
"Visitation will be from 5 p.m. to 8 p.m. Friday at Morgan Funeral Chapel. Goolsby will lie in repose an hour before the funeral service.
"In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to Walnut Grove Volunteer Fire Department." ~ The Gadsden Times, by Donna Thornton, October 22, 2014