PAW PAW, Mich. — Who was Lieutenant Ethan Quillen? A husband, father, Marine, volunteer firefighter and, to so many, a hero.
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“He proved his passion almost immediately. When he answered…a single question during his interview in 2019. He was asked what type of compensation he was looking for and he responded with, ‘I want no compensation. I just want to serve my community,’” Chief Jim DeGroff with the Paw Paw Fire Department recalled Saturday during Lt. Quillen’s celebration of life.
READ MORE: Public funeral service held for Lt. Quillen in Paw Paw
Chief DeGroff says Lt. Quillen was a dedicated, loyal and trustworthy employee who became part of the department’s family quickly.
“Recently during a training session, one of our junior members was struggling with the task. As she was getting pretty frustrated, Ethan pulled her aside, told her to open the cabinet, get the pill bottle out and take a chill pill. He lightened up the mood and he stayed with her, helping her,” he explained. “And now every time frustration sets in, she hears this voice telling her to take a chill pill.”
To his cousin Cy, Ethan was like a brother and one of his biggest inspirations.
“Many of my earliest memories are of us, mostly. Hanging out and playing games at our grandparents’ house when we were little, Grandma and Grandpa would take us to what was known as ‘the dime store’ and give us each some money to get something. Usually, it ended up being matchbox cars and Legos which we would go back to the house and immediately start building,” Cy recalled Saturday. “I’ve always looked up to Ethan. For the longest time, I wanted to follow in his footsteps. When he left for the Marines, I was so convinced I was going to do the same things. Although that isn’t the way my life went, I will always be the proud younger cousin of the service that he gave and continued to give until his last breath.”
To his pastor, Wally Coots, who saw many sides of Lt. Quillen, from childhood to adulthood, he was a selfless child of God, called home too soon.
“Ethan loved his family. He loved his church. From a very young age he was service oriented. Even at church. The last memory that most of our church members have of him is the Sunday before his death. Ethan, his parents and grandparents prepared coffee time following Sunday morning service. We do it every week and they served us, so our church members remember, as their final memory, Ethan serving his church family,” Pastor Coots added.
28-year-old Lt. Ethan Quillen leaves behind his wife and their young daughter.
If you’d like to help support the family, a GoFundMe page has been set up for donations.
