Robert James VALE, SR

ROBERT JAMES VALE, SR, 72, died on March 8th, 2011 at home. He was born in Newark, NJ where he attended Arts High School, the first public school in the United States dedicated to the visual and performing arts. He was a long time resident of West Orange, New Jersey where he was one of the first EMTs certified by the state and where he retired as a Deputy Chief of the West Orange Fire Department. During his 28 years of service on the fire department, he was awarded numerous citations for his actions in life saving and emergency situations. He served as the Emergency Management Coordinator for the town of West Orange and was invited by the City of New York as an investigator during the first bombing of the World Trade Center. He was a Master Plumber in the state of NJ and a veteran of the United States Air Force. He served in Japan as a crew chief on the Canberra aircraft, with the 5th Air Force, 90th Bomb Squadron, Pair-O-Dice. His last assignment was as a crew chief on President John F. Kennedys Air Force One, for which he received a special citation for his contributions to the presidential inauguration. Until illness prevented him, he was an active member of American Legion Post #201, in Alpharetta, Georgia. Mr. Vale is survived by his wife Mary C. Vale, his daughter Dawn M. Vale-Kester of Harleysville, PA, his sons Kenneth P. Vale of Cumming, GA, Michael J. Vale, of Readington, NJ and Robert J. Vale, Jr. of Cumming, GA; his grand children, Grant Kester, Julia Kester, Gwen Kester, Nicholas Vale, Austin Vale, Katelynn Vale, Alexa Vale and Haley Vale. Services were conducted at Ingrams Funeral Home in Cumming, Georgia on March 14th, 2011. The Forsyth County Fire Department Honor Guard oversaw the services, and transported the remains on a fire engine to the Georgia National Cemetery, where the Veterans Alliance provided honors and presented the colors. The family asks that in remembrance donations be made to the Forsyth County Humane Society, P.O. Box 337, Cumming, GA 30028. Ingram Funeral Home Crematory, Cumming, Georgia is in charge of arrangements.