Daily Local News (West Chester, PA)
COLLEAGUES MOURN ‘BIG LOSS’ OF EMS CHIEF
Crozer-Keystone Emergency Medical Services Chief Robert ‘Bob’ Reeder was a Cochranville resident
His staff called it “Reeder Monday.”
Every paramedic and EMT who worked the street with Crozer-Keystone Emergency Medical Services Chief Robert “Bob” Reeder on Mondays between 6 a.m. and 2 p.m. knew they better be at the top of their game.
“You didn’t go out on Sunday night if you knew you were working Monday with Bob,” Lt. Michael Morgan said Wednesday as he, some fellow first responders and their supervisors looked back on their time with their late boss with deep fondness and great respect.
Reeder, a 61-year-old married father of four and grandfather of three from Cochranville, was on duty Saturday morning during a cystic fibrosis fundraiser at Talen Energy Stadium in Chester when he collapsed, suffering what was soon determined as cardiac arrest.
“His radio was open and they were calling him. But he didn’t answer,” said Assistant Chief Larry Worrilow. “We got the call about 9:20 Saturday morning.”
Reeder’s death, the first to occur during the line of duty in the 42-year history of Crozer EMS, stunned his “family” of first responders throughout the Crozer system, and well as many friends in the community and beyond.
“He offered to work this event because it was for charity,” Delaware County Emergency Services Director Tim Boyce said soon after Reeder’s death. “Bob was always willing to get in-
volved. If there was ever a community event, Bob was there. He was excellent at his craft.”
A rough day
It was mid-afternoon Wednesday at Station 100 headquarters on Crozer’s sprawling campus, just hours before the 70-plus EMS staff was due at the first of two visitations for Reeder at the Brookhaven Community Center. Black bunting was draped over the door outside Reeder’s office. Inside, some of the commendations Reeder earned throughout his 37 years with Crozer, the last 20 as EMS chief, adorned the walls. A bouquet of flowers that had been on display Sunday at the stadium during a moment of silence at the start of the last Union game now rested at Reeder’s desk, amid the peppering of post-it-notes and other paperwork, and lots of family photographs just as he left them Saturday morning.
“His presence is still here,” said Assistant Chief Bruce Egan. “But knowing he won’t be coming through that door is hard.”
Reeder shared a brotherhood with all members of the squad, and his door was always open to anyone, Assistant Chief Jeffrey Witters said.
Richard Micun worked with Reeder for 33 years before he became EMS chief at Delaware County Memorial Hospital, also under the Crozer-Keystone umbrella, two months ago.
“It is a rough day,” Micun said.
“It’s a big loss, definitely,” said Jon Ley, a Chester Fire Department battalion chief and part-time Crozer paramedic.
Reeder, a twin of the late Christopher Reeder, grew up in the Linwood section of Lower Chester. He was a 1975 graduate of Chichester High School, a 1982 graduate of Delaware County Community College Paramedic Program and a 2007 graduate of Widener University’s allied health program.
At some point Reeder was an aspiring youth pastor, his colleagues said. He attended Liberty University for about a year. During his time there, they said he frequently traveled with Jerry Falwell, the southern Baptist pastor, televangelist and conservative activist who founded the school.
Early on, Reeder was a volunteer EMT for Parkside Fire Co. He also worked security for Elwyn.
A good boss
Worrilow, who trained Reeder as a young paramedic, was in the office Saturday when the chief arrived about 6:45 a.m. Reeder, who had to be at Talen by 8:30 a.m., did a couple things around the office while Worrilow made the coffee. The pair talked about the Mizuno golf clubs that Reeder had ordered online.
Reeder got a call from his wife, Kathy, who is employed by Crozer as a respiratory therapist. She had just finished her shift and asked her husband of 13 years to join her for breakfast at the Upland Diner, said Worrilow. Reeder, a mug of coffee complete with two packets of Splenda and cream in hand, headed out the door about 7:45 a.m.
“He seemed great. He had a big smile on his face, his normal self,” said Worrilow.
“He was a devoted family man, absolutely,” added Worrilow. “His kids and his family were everything to him.”
“It’s still completely surreal to me. He was a part of my life at work, and out of work. I was there for the birth of all his kids. I was in his wedding 13 years ago,” said Jeff Dugan, a paramedic until two weeks ago when he retired due to a work-related injury after 29 years of service.
“He was such a good boss. He kept himself grounded,” Dugan said.
Dugan did not know that Reeder was working an event for cystic fibrosis until he saw Reeder’s check-in on Facebook that morning. Dugan, whose 10-year-old son, Sean, has the disease, liked Reeder’s post.
“Within 15 minutes, I got a call from George Bevilacqua telling me Bobby was in cardiac arrest,” Dugan said. “It was a total shocker.”
Bill Eves, a Crozer groundskeeper for 38 years whose office was across the hall from Reeder’s, was on his way to the beach when Witters called him with the sad news.
He recalled playing together on the company softball team, as well as trips to Chicago for hockey.
In addition to his family, job and golf, Reeder loved Philadelphia sports, Goldenberg’s peanut chews, his Golden Retrievers, and tracking the international space station.
He was known for his loud voice – not because he yelled, but because he was enthusiastic, Witters said.
“Immediate cavalcades of lights and sirens signified the mark that Bob left on our community,” Crozer spokesman Rich Leonowitz wrote in a tribute shared internally throughout the health care system. “Streams of social media posts and videos were shared by first-responders all around Pennsylvania, attesting to Bob’s legacy of leadership and commitment in the EMS landscape. Print and digital media and broadcast news paid respects to Bob all weekend.”
Wednesday night, thousands of mourners gathered in Brookhaven to pay respects to Reeder, outfitted in a Class A dress uniform. A mix of 17 paramedics and EMTs took turns standing guard for 15-minute intervals at either end of the casket – all dressed in Class A uniforms provided to them and the entire EMS squad by Crozer-Keystone for the sad occasion.
Thursday afternoon, Reeder will be transported to his final resting place in SS. Peter and Paul Cemetery in MICU 82, accompanied by Matthew Eick and Kevin Quinn, the paramedic and EMT respectively, who responded to Reeder’s last call at Talen.
While Reeder deserves every accolade and every minute of attention, Worrilow said, “He would have hated it. He never liked the spotlight.”
Contributions in Reeder’s memory may be made to Nemours Center for Cancer and Blood Disorders, at Nemours Alfred I. DuPont Hospital for Children, in the name of Emily Egan.
The 17-year-old daughter of Bruce Egan and a senior at Sun Valley High School, Emily was diagnosed with aplastic anemia in July and is currently recovering from a bone marrow transplant.
Egan said he and his wife, Jennifer, along with Emily and her sister and donor, 14-year-old Erin, are once again touched by Reeder because of the generosity of his family.
“Even in his death, Bob is still helping one of his guys out,” he said.