By Clare Marie Celano
Correspondent
FREEHOLD TOWNSHIP — The municipality lost a dedicated firefighter, community volunteer, devoted Boy Scout advocate, consummate storyteller and, most importantly, a beloved and cherished husband, father and grandfather when Gordon Prochnow Sr. died on Jan. 4.
Prochnow, 85, was a member of Freehold Township Independent Fire Company No. 1 for almost 50 years. He served as the fire company’s chief in 1980. He also served as a fire commissioner in Freehold Township Fire District No. 1 and as a Fire Bureau member.
Prochnow’s daughter, Susan Story, said her father became a junior firefighter at the age of 14 in Massachusetts, where he was raised. He moved to Freehold Township in 1967 and joined the volunteer Freehold Township Independent Fire Company No. 1 in 1970.
Prochnow’s son, Wayne, is the current chief of the Freehold Township Independent Fire Company No. 1, and his son, Gordon Jr., is also a firefighter with the company. Wayne Prochnow’s son, Brian, is a firefighter with and former chief of the Adelphia Fire Company, Howell.
Gordon Jr.’s son, Gordon III, is a former firefighter with the Freehold Township Independent Fire Company No. 1, and his son, Andrew, is a firefighter with the Freehold Township Independent Fire Company No. 1.
Story called her father a “true gentleman” and said Prochnow will be “loved and remembered for his phone calls, requests for service, his jovial, witty and kind words, and his great stories.”
“Dad started as a junior firefighter and thought the firehouse was a cool place to hang out. It just stuck with him,” Story said. “After joining Freehold Independent in 1970 he became a key player and was instrumental in starting the junior firefighter program for the department in 1975.”
Story said her father was a “humble servant” who instilled in his children and other family members, “how to be better people, love one another, make a better community and commit to community service.”
“His children and grandchildren are still involved in Boy Scouts, Girl Scouts, fire prevention, and all of them volunteer in their community,” she said.
Prochnow worked with the Boy Scouts, especially on the Battleground Klondike Derby in Manalapan which he supervised for 45 years.
The Gordon Prochnow Sr. Award was established Feb. 7, 2015 in recognition of Prochnow’s 45 years of dedicated service and support to the Battleground Klondike Derby, according to Story.
“The Prochnow family was the first recipient of this newly designated award and a new recipient will be chosen each year and added to the plaque at Quail Hill,” Story said.
Kevin Sweetnam, the Scoutmaster of Troop 155, Freehold, said Prochnow had been a fixture at the Battleground District Klondike Derby since the late 1960’s.
“The Klondike Derby is an annual competition where scout troops from western Monmouth County gather to put their scouting skills to a test,” Sweetnam said. “Gordon … would present scouts with real life first aid situations and test them in their knowledge, teamwork, scout spirit and leadership. I can remember as a 12-year-old leading my patrol of eight scouts and being given a problem where my patrol came upon a car accident with a passenger suffering from multiple injuries. Gordon spent time explaining how to handle the situation. He also took the time to give me advice about leading a patrol. That was more than 30 years ago and it is still fresh in my mind. He has had an impact on so many scouts over the years.”
Prochnow was a member of St. Peter’s Episcopal Church, Freehold Borough, and served on the Vestry and on other committees.
“He will long be remembered for his service as an usher with his bigger than life smile, handshake, friendly gestures and the way he greeted new families and made them feel welcome,” Story said of her dad.
Wayne Prochnow called his dad “a leader, a teacher, a mentor” and a “go-to kind of person” and said, “He helped out so many people and wanted nothing in return. He was always a giver, never a taker.”
Prochnow said his father “groomed the Prochnow family name for his grandchildren.”
“Our kids were well aware of the respect that name commanded and honored that. They grew up learning their grandfather’s values and how important those values were, and earned respect as well,” he said.
Veteran firefighter Frank Simacek knew Gordon Prochnow for 45 years. Simacek, who serves the fire company as chaplain, said of his friend, “There is nobody better than Gordy. He was dedicated to family, church, the fire department, the Boy Scouts, the Masons and to his community. He was involved in everything. He was very personable and always looking out for others.”
Simacek performed the prayer service at Prochnow’s funeral with fellow firefighter and friend Harry Carter, who serves the Adelphia Fire Company and the East Freehold Fire Company, Freehold Township, as chaplain.
One of Simacek’s memories of Prochnow is the chief taking his Freehold Township firefighters to fire companies in Jersey City and Newark on weekends to train with the firefighters in those cities.
“We would even go on calls with them. It was a great experience,” he said.
Freehold Borough Mayor Nolan Higgins, who is a former chief of the Freehold Fire Department Engine Company No. 1, said, “Gordy and his family have been friends for many years. During his time at the Monmouth County Fire Academy (as an instructor) he was always ready to help a fire company, an officer, or a member in their training and education.
“He was a lifelong member of the fire service and his family has followed in that tradition. Gordy was a tremendous help to all of us who served as chief of our respective departments. At his funeral service, the very large participation of funeral departments from across Monmouth County and from Ocean County was a testament to his service and dedication to fire service training,” Higgins said.
Prochnow was a civil engineer with Shell Oil and later sold fire vehicles for Mack Trucks. He was eventually employed by Monmouth County as a lead instructor at the fire academy and he handled administrative duties at the fire academy until 2007.
Prochnow was predeceased by a son, Scott Martin. He is survived by his wife of 61 years, Dorothy; his sons, Gordon Jr. and Wayne; his daughters, Susan Story and Diane Lynn Prochnow; and his grandchildren.
