OKANOGAN COUNTY, Wash. – A former Winthrop and Okanogan County Fire Chief has passed away after a battle with Non-Hodkin’s Lymphoma.
Okanogan County Fire District 6 says Chief Don Waller died on Wednesday, Nov. 6, at his home in Winthrop.
“It is with a sad heart that I am informing you that after a tough battle with Non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma (cancer), Chief Don Waller passed away early this morning at his home in Winthrop,” a post read. “Chief Waller started volunteering as a firefighter in Winthrop at age 16 and spent the rest of his life dedicating his time to this community in the fire service.”
Waller started volunteering with the Winthrop Fire Department in 1972 before serving as a volunteer chief in 1981. He was then hired by the OCFD6 in 2002 as the first full-time chief, and continued serving as Winthrop’s volunteer chief until the town contracted with the district in 2008.
In all, he spent over 45 years firefighting, retiring as OCFD6 Chief in 2017 but continuing to volunteer afterwards.
Waller is the second Okanogan County firefighter to pass away in just over a month. Okanogan County Fire District 3 Assistant Chief died back on Oct. 2 due to injuries he sustained while battling the Spring Coulee fire back in September.
