Assistant Chief and Fire Marshal Bernard Clyde Olive, Jr., 68, of Baytown, passed away, Thursday, April 5, 2018, at the San Jacinto Methodist Hospital in Baytown.
Bernard was born June 27, 1949 in Baytown, to parents; Bernard “Buddy” Clyde, Sr. and Aline Slagle Olive, and has been a lifelong resident of Baytown. His education included graduate of Robert E. Lee High School, an Associate’s Degree in Fire Protection Technology at San Jacinto College and later attending the Bush School of Government at Texas A&M University, receiving a certificate of completion in Leadership Development for Integrated Emergency Response. He was a veteran of the United States Army as a medic with the 565th Medical Ambulance Co., former Emergency Management Coordinator, and past president of the Battleship Texas Volunteers. He also held membership with St. John’s United Methodist Church and the Cedar Bayou Masonic Lodge. Chief Olive was the most tenured member of the fire department having been with the city just shy of 49 years; three years with public works and 45-plus years with the Baytown Fire Department, guest instructor at Texas A&M Municipal Fire School for the past 34 years, Master Firefighter, Master Fire Inspector, Master Fire Investigator, and Master Peace Officer.
Chief Olive was preceded in death by his parents and aunts and uncles: Wilmuth and Jim Foster, Charlie and Georgia Slagle, and Dorothy and Bill Curry, and numerous other aunts, uncles, and cousins. He is survived by his wife of 43 years: Kathy Vaughan Olive, daughter: Martha Olive O’Daniel and husband Timothy, granddaughter: Kathryn Colleen O’Daniel, brothers-in-law: Rick Vaughan and wife Margie and Dennis Vaughan, cousin: Angie Slagle Sigers and husband Hugh, nieces and nephews: Amber Vaughan, Stephen Vaughan, Jennifer Vaughan, Daniel Vaughan, and Emily Vaughan, numerous other relatives, and friends.
The family will receive friends from 4:30 p.m. to 8 p.m., Wednesday, at the Crespo & Jirrels Funeral Home Chapel. Funeral services will be held at 10:00 a.m., Thursday, April 12, 2018, at the Second Baptist Church located at 6227 N Main St, Baytown, TX 77521, with entombment at Cedarcrest Cemetery in Baytown, under the direction of Crespo & Jirrels Funeral and Creations Services.
For those who desire donations may be made to St. John’s United Methodist Church, 501 S. Alexander Dr., Baytown, Texas 77520, in Bernard’s name.
Baytown Sun, April 6, 2018
"Baytown Assistant Chief and Fire Marshal Bernard Olive died Thursday.
Chief Olive was the most tenured member of the fire department having been with the city just shy of 49 years; three years with public works and 45-plus years with the Baytown Fire Department. Look for more coverage and reaction in Sunday’s Baytown Sun.
In 2014, Chief Olive said that when all is said and done, he hopes that people remember how much he cared and that he tried to leave a better Baytown behind.
“I believe that a city is as good as its people and that’s why I chose to live in Baytown and have my career in Baytown,” Olive said. “The city is growing and with any city that is growing, there are growing pains. But it takes men and women to see that those pains dissolve and growth and prosperity continues.”
Chief Olive is survived by his beloved wife, Kathy, his daughter Martha and son-in-law Tim and his granddaughter Kathryn.
Funeral arrangements are pending."
"Here is the entire Aug 31, 2014 story profiling Chief Olive:
Fire marshal marks 45 years of service
By Eleska Aubespin
Fire Marshal and Assistant Chief Bernard Olive is the longest tenured employee of Baytown’s Fire Department.
For 45 years, Olive has made his way from city employee to the high ranks of the fire department and seen countless tragedies and triumphs along the way.
He marks that special anniversary this year.
Olive’s crowded office at the fire department’s building at 201 E. Wye Drive overflows with memorabilia, from small fire truck models to an old family heirloom that is a clock that dates back to 1850.
“But this is my favorite thing,” Olive said as he pointed to a photo of his granddaughter, Kathryn Coline O’Daniel, 8.
Everything has meaning and significance to Olive, including dated, yellow-faded photos and newspaper clippings that hang on his wall. Some depict his grandfather, C.H. Olive, and his great uncle, Joe Armata, both firefighters with the Pelly Fire Department.
His father, Bernard, worked in construction and the family lived in Baytown. As a child, Olive grew up only five blocks from the fire station and recalled time spent with Jim French, a Pelly firefighter who worked for the Baytown Fire Department once the cities merged.
“He was really a mentor,” Olive said. “When we talked, it interested me to no end and I just absorbed it like a sponge.”
That was only the beginning of his knowledge about the fire department and emergency management.
But that was not how he came to be employed with the City of Baytown.
He started work in the public works utilities division in 1969 after he returned home from military service with the United States Army. At that time, he was a medic with the 565th Medical Ambulance Company in the U.S. and Germany.
Olive took the job in public works because he was too young to become a firefighter.
Being a firefighter was a job he wanted to do in order to utilize medical skills from the Army and he wanted to be in public service.
But you had to be 21 years old to be a firefighter. So he worked in utilities then transferred to the fire department in 1973 as a driver.
Over the years, Olive continued his education and professional development with an Associate’s Degree in Fire Protection Technology at San Jacinto College in 1981 and later by attending the Bush School of Government at Texas A&M University, where he received a certificate of completion in Leadership Development for Integrated Emergency Response.
“There were only 25 people in the nation who were selected to attend this school,” Olive said. “We learned how to deal with foreign and domestic threats and they taught us how to coordinate with other cities, governmental entities and agencies during emergencies. And this was before Homeland Security.”
Olive graduated from the course on Aug. 11, 2001, exactly one month to the day before the Twin Towers came down during the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks.
He did not go to New York City but was able to advise Baytown city officials on how they should prepare if an attack were to occur here.
“That day they called a special council meeting and I talked to council,” Olive said. “Here on the petrochemical coast there was a real threat because we didn’t know how many targets they had.”
In 1982, Olive became Battalion Chief and Assistant Chief/Fire Marshal in 1992. He has put his experience and knowledge to use in a variety of roles within the department, including serving as the city’s Emergency Management Coordinator from 1998 to 2007.
Olive developed and implemented a High Water Rescue Program and has represented the city as a guest instructor at Texas A&M Municipal Fire School for the past 34 years.
Olive is also widely known as the annual coordinator, chief cook and bottle washer for the July 4th parade and activities, a role he has enjoyed since 1976.
His list of professional organizations is just as long, but a notable connection is his role as past president of the Battleship Texas Volunteers.
Olive was head of the Fire and Rescue Party for the 1988 tow of the Battleship Texas when the ship was taken to Galveston for repairs.
Olive is a “master” of just about everything, wearing the title of Master Firefighter, Master Fire Inspector, Master Fire Investigator, and Master Peace Officer.
Baytown Fire Department Chief Shon Blake said Olive brings his expertise to the table, whether it is about fire response or emergency management.
“When we become stumped on something of historical significance, we go to Bernard about that too,” Blake said.
“It’s amazing his career has lasted so long but he stays because he loves the fire service and helping the community he was born and raised in,” he added.
Olive has an outgoing personality and is willing to help you at the drop of a hat, the chief said. And more often than not, “Bernard never meets a stranger.”
Over time, Olive has served with six fire chiefs. Chief L.V. Bailey hired him at the fire department.
Admitting that there were too many cases to count, Olive can’t recall the most memorable of all of the families he has helped escape blazing flames or save their homes and businesses from destruction.
He also can’t name families he had to approach and break the devastating news that a loved one had perished. Sometimes it was a child.
“People may not remember your face or your name, but they remember your words,” Olive said.
“If you believe in what the Bible teaches us, we move on to a better place,” he added. “The loss is still there and the pain is still there, but you have to treat people as human beings and I think about how I would feel if someone else had to tell me.”
Sometimes death struck close to home when it was the city’s firefighters who perished, such as when Capt. Kenneth Rowe died of a heart attack while at the scene of a house fire in 1975.
Or when Nito R. Guajardo died while fighting a blaze in 2004. Olive was acting chief when Guajardo perished.
“These deaths were traumatic for everyone. You admire men and women who devote their lives to public service and you hate to see them perish.”
Compassion and faith has gotten Olive – and others – through it all.
So has the support and love of his wife, Kathy Vaughan Olive. The couple celebrated their 43rd anniversary this year. They have a daughter, Martha, son-in-law Tim O’Daniel, and, of course, granddaughter Kathryn.
When all is said and done, Olive said he hopes that people remember how much he cared and that he tried to leave a better Baytown behind.
“I believe that a city is as good as its people and that’s why I chose to live in Baytown and have my career in Baytown,” Olive said. “The city is growing and with any city that is growing, there are growing pains. But it takes men and women to see that those pains dissolve and growth and prosperity continues.”
Bernard was born June 27, 1949 in Baytown, to parents; Bernard “Buddy” Clyde, Sr. and Aline Slagle Olive, and has been a lifelong resident of Baytown. His education included graduate of Robert E. Lee High School, an Associate’s Degree in Fire Protection Technology at San Jacinto College and later attending the Bush School of Government at Texas A&M University, receiving a certificate of completion in Leadership Development for Integrated Emergency Response. He was a veteran of the United States Army as a medic with the 565th Medical Ambulance Co., former Emergency Management Coordinator, and past president of the Battleship Texas Volunteers. He also held membership with St. John’s United Methodist Church and the Cedar Bayou Masonic Lodge. Chief Olive was the most tenured member of the fire department having been with the city just shy of 49 years; three years with public works and 45-plus years with the Baytown Fire Department, guest instructor at Texas A&M Municipal Fire School for the past 34 years, Master Firefighter, Master Fire Inspector, Master Fire Investigator, and Master Peace Officer.
Chief Olive was preceded in death by his parents and aunts and uncles: Wilmuth and Jim Foster, Charlie and Georgia Slagle, and Dorothy and Bill Curry, and numerous other aunts, uncles, and cousins. He is survived by his wife of 43 years: Kathy Vaughan Olive, daughter: Martha Olive O’Daniel and husband Timothy, granddaughter: Kathryn Colleen O’Daniel, brothers-in-law: Rick Vaughan and wife Margie and Dennis Vaughan, cousin: Angie Slagle Sigers and husband Hugh, nieces and nephews: Amber Vaughan, Stephen Vaughan, Jennifer Vaughan, Daniel Vaughan, and Emily Vaughan, numerous other relatives, and friends.
The family will receive friends from 4:30 p.m. to 8 p.m., Wednesday, at the Crespo & Jirrels Funeral Home Chapel. Funeral services will be held at 10:00 a.m., Thursday, April 12, 2018, at the Second Baptist Church located at 6227 N Main St, Baytown, TX 77521, with entombment at Cedarcrest Cemetery in Baytown, under the direction of Crespo & Jirrels Funeral and Creations Services.
For those who desire donations may be made to St. John’s United Methodist Church, 501 S. Alexander Dr., Baytown, Texas 77520, in Bernard’s name.
Baytown Sun, April 6, 2018
"Baytown Assistant Chief and Fire Marshal Bernard Olive died Thursday.
Chief Olive was the most tenured member of the fire department having been with the city just shy of 49 years; three years with public works and 45-plus years with the Baytown Fire Department. Look for more coverage and reaction in Sunday’s Baytown Sun.
In 2014, Chief Olive said that when all is said and done, he hopes that people remember how much he cared and that he tried to leave a better Baytown behind.
“I believe that a city is as good as its people and that’s why I chose to live in Baytown and have my career in Baytown,” Olive said. “The city is growing and with any city that is growing, there are growing pains. But it takes men and women to see that those pains dissolve and growth and prosperity continues.”
Chief Olive is survived by his beloved wife, Kathy, his daughter Martha and son-in-law Tim and his granddaughter Kathryn.
Funeral arrangements are pending."
"Here is the entire Aug 31, 2014 story profiling Chief Olive:
Fire marshal marks 45 years of service
By Eleska Aubespin
Fire Marshal and Assistant Chief Bernard Olive is the longest tenured employee of Baytown’s Fire Department.
For 45 years, Olive has made his way from city employee to the high ranks of the fire department and seen countless tragedies and triumphs along the way.
He marks that special anniversary this year.
Olive’s crowded office at the fire department’s building at 201 E. Wye Drive overflows with memorabilia, from small fire truck models to an old family heirloom that is a clock that dates back to 1850.
“But this is my favorite thing,” Olive said as he pointed to a photo of his granddaughter, Kathryn Coline O’Daniel, 8.
Everything has meaning and significance to Olive, including dated, yellow-faded photos and newspaper clippings that hang on his wall. Some depict his grandfather, C.H. Olive, and his great uncle, Joe Armata, both firefighters with the Pelly Fire Department.
His father, Bernard, worked in construction and the family lived in Baytown. As a child, Olive grew up only five blocks from the fire station and recalled time spent with Jim French, a Pelly firefighter who worked for the Baytown Fire Department once the cities merged.
“He was really a mentor,” Olive said. “When we talked, it interested me to no end and I just absorbed it like a sponge.”
That was only the beginning of his knowledge about the fire department and emergency management.
But that was not how he came to be employed with the City of Baytown.
He started work in the public works utilities division in 1969 after he returned home from military service with the United States Army. At that time, he was a medic with the 565th Medical Ambulance Company in the U.S. and Germany.
Olive took the job in public works because he was too young to become a firefighter.
Being a firefighter was a job he wanted to do in order to utilize medical skills from the Army and he wanted to be in public service.
But you had to be 21 years old to be a firefighter. So he worked in utilities then transferred to the fire department in 1973 as a driver.
Over the years, Olive continued his education and professional development with an Associate’s Degree in Fire Protection Technology at San Jacinto College in 1981 and later by attending the Bush School of Government at Texas A&M University, where he received a certificate of completion in Leadership Development for Integrated Emergency Response.
“There were only 25 people in the nation who were selected to attend this school,” Olive said. “We learned how to deal with foreign and domestic threats and they taught us how to coordinate with other cities, governmental entities and agencies during emergencies. And this was before Homeland Security.”
Olive graduated from the course on Aug. 11, 2001, exactly one month to the day before the Twin Towers came down during the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks.
He did not go to New York City but was able to advise Baytown city officials on how they should prepare if an attack were to occur here.
“That day they called a special council meeting and I talked to council,” Olive said. “Here on the petrochemical coast there was a real threat because we didn’t know how many targets they had.”
In 1982, Olive became Battalion Chief and Assistant Chief/Fire Marshal in 1992. He has put his experience and knowledge to use in a variety of roles within the department, including serving as the city’s Emergency Management Coordinator from 1998 to 2007.
Olive developed and implemented a High Water Rescue Program and has represented the city as a guest instructor at Texas A&M Municipal Fire School for the past 34 years.
Olive is also widely known as the annual coordinator, chief cook and bottle washer for the July 4th parade and activities, a role he has enjoyed since 1976.
His list of professional organizations is just as long, but a notable connection is his role as past president of the Battleship Texas Volunteers.
Olive was head of the Fire and Rescue Party for the 1988 tow of the Battleship Texas when the ship was taken to Galveston for repairs.
Olive is a “master” of just about everything, wearing the title of Master Firefighter, Master Fire Inspector, Master Fire Investigator, and Master Peace Officer.
Baytown Fire Department Chief Shon Blake said Olive brings his expertise to the table, whether it is about fire response or emergency management.
“When we become stumped on something of historical significance, we go to Bernard about that too,” Blake said.
“It’s amazing his career has lasted so long but he stays because he loves the fire service and helping the community he was born and raised in,” he added.
Olive has an outgoing personality and is willing to help you at the drop of a hat, the chief said. And more often than not, “Bernard never meets a stranger.”
Over time, Olive has served with six fire chiefs. Chief L.V. Bailey hired him at the fire department.
Admitting that there were too many cases to count, Olive can’t recall the most memorable of all of the families he has helped escape blazing flames or save their homes and businesses from destruction.
He also can’t name families he had to approach and break the devastating news that a loved one had perished. Sometimes it was a child.
“People may not remember your face or your name, but they remember your words,” Olive said.
“If you believe in what the Bible teaches us, we move on to a better place,” he added. “The loss is still there and the pain is still there, but you have to treat people as human beings and I think about how I would feel if someone else had to tell me.”
Sometimes death struck close to home when it was the city’s firefighters who perished, such as when Capt. Kenneth Rowe died of a heart attack while at the scene of a house fire in 1975.
Or when Nito R. Guajardo died while fighting a blaze in 2004. Olive was acting chief when Guajardo perished.
“These deaths were traumatic for everyone. You admire men and women who devote their lives to public service and you hate to see them perish.”
Compassion and faith has gotten Olive – and others – through it all.
So has the support and love of his wife, Kathy Vaughan Olive. The couple celebrated their 43rd anniversary this year. They have a daughter, Martha, son-in-law Tim O’Daniel, and, of course, granddaughter Kathryn.
When all is said and done, Olive said he hopes that people remember how much he cared and that he tried to leave a better Baytown behind.
“I believe that a city is as good as its people and that’s why I chose to live in Baytown and have my career in Baytown,” Olive said. “The city is growing and with any city that is growing, there are growing pains. But it takes men and women to see that those pains dissolve and growth and prosperity continues.”
Assistant Chief and Fire Marshal Bernard Clyde Olive, Jr., 68, of Baytown, passed away, Thursday, April 5, 2018, at the San Jacinto Methodist Hospital in Baytown.
Bernard was born June 27, 1949 in Baytown, to parents; Bernard “Buddy” Clyde, Sr. and Aline Slagle Olive, and has been a lifelong resident of Baytown. His education included graduate of Robert E. Lee High School, an Associate’s Degree in Fire Protection Technology at San Jacinto College and later attending the Bush School of Government at Texas A&M University, receiving a certificate of completion in Leadership Development for Integrated Emergency Response. He was a veteran of the United States Army as a medic with the 565th Medical Ambulance Co., former Emergency Management Coordinator, and past president of the Battleship Texas Volunteers. He also held membership with St. John’s United Methodist Church and the Cedar Bayou Masonic Lodge. Chief Olive was the most tenured member of the fire department having been with the city just shy of 49 years; three years with public works and 45-plus years with the Baytown Fire Department, guest instructor at Texas A&M Municipal Fire School for the past 34 years, Master Firefighter, Master Fire Inspector, Master Fire Investigator, and Master Peace Officer.
Chief Olive was preceded in death by his parents and aunts and uncles: Wilmuth and Jim Foster, Charlie and Georgia Slagle, and Dorothy and Bill Curry, and numerous other aunts, uncles, and cousins. He is survived by his wife of 43 years: Kathy Vaughan Olive, daughter: Martha Olive O’Daniel and husband Timothy, granddaughter: Kathryn Colleen O’Daniel, brothers-in-law: Rick Vaughan and wife Margie and Dennis Vaughan, cousin: Angie Slagle Sigers and husband Hugh, nieces and nephews: Amber Vaughan, Stephen Vaughan, Jennifer Vaughan, Daniel Vaughan, and Emily Vaughan, numerous other relatives, and friends.
The family will receive friends from 4:30 p.m. to 8 p.m., Wednesday, at the Crespo & Jirrels Funeral Home Chapel. Funeral services will be held at 10:00 a.m., Thursday, April 12, 2018, at the Second Baptist Church located at 6227 N Main St, Baytown, TX 77521, with entombment at Cedarcrest Cemetery in Baytown, under the direction of Crespo & Jirrels Funeral and Creations Services.
For those who desire donations may be made to St. John’s United Methodist Church, 501 S. Alexander Dr., Baytown, Texas 77520, in Bernard’s name.
Baytown Sun, April 6, 2018
"Baytown Assistant Chief and Fire Marshal Bernard Olive died Thursday.
Chief Olive was the most tenured member of the fire department having been with the city just shy of 49 years; three years with public works and 45-plus years with the Baytown Fire Department. Look for more coverage and reaction in Sunday’s Baytown Sun.
In 2014, Chief Olive said that when all is said and done, he hopes that people remember how much he cared and that he tried to leave a better Baytown behind.
“I believe that a city is as good as its people and that’s why I chose to live in Baytown and have my career in Baytown,” Olive said. “The city is growing and with any city that is growing, there are growing pains. But it takes men and women to see that those pains dissolve and growth and prosperity continues.”
Chief Olive is survived by his beloved wife, Kathy, his daughter Martha and son-in-law Tim and his granddaughter Kathryn.
Funeral arrangements are pending."
"Here is the entire Aug 31, 2014 story profiling Chief Olive:
Fire marshal marks 45 years of service
By Eleska Aubespin
Fire Marshal and Assistant Chief Bernard Olive is the longest tenured employee of Baytown’s Fire Department.
For 45 years, Olive has made his way from city employee to the high ranks of the fire department and seen countless tragedies and triumphs along the way.
He marks that special anniversary this year.
Olive’s crowded office at the fire department’s building at 201 E. Wye Drive overflows with memorabilia, from small fire truck models to an old family heirloom that is a clock that dates back to 1850.
“But this is my favorite thing,” Olive said as he pointed to a photo of his granddaughter, Kathryn Coline O’Daniel, 8.
Everything has meaning and significance to Olive, including dated, yellow-faded photos and newspaper clippings that hang on his wall. Some depict his grandfather, C.H. Olive, and his great uncle, Joe Armata, both firefighters with the Pelly Fire Department.
His father, Bernard, worked in construction and the family lived in Baytown. As a child, Olive grew up only five blocks from the fire station and recalled time spent with Jim French, a Pelly firefighter who worked for the Baytown Fire Department once the cities merged.
“He was really a mentor,” Olive said. “When we talked, it interested me to no end and I just absorbed it like a sponge.”
That was only the beginning of his knowledge about the fire department and emergency management.
But that was not how he came to be employed with the City of Baytown.
He started work in the public works utilities division in 1969 after he returned home from military service with the United States Army. At that time, he was a medic with the 565th Medical Ambulance Company in the U.S. and Germany.
Olive took the job in public works because he was too young to become a firefighter.
Being a firefighter was a job he wanted to do in order to utilize medical skills from the Army and he wanted to be in public service.
But you had to be 21 years old to be a firefighter. So he worked in utilities then transferred to the fire department in 1973 as a driver.
Over the years, Olive continued his education and professional development with an Associate’s Degree in Fire Protection Technology at San Jacinto College in 1981 and later by attending the Bush School of Government at Texas A&M University, where he received a certificate of completion in Leadership Development for Integrated Emergency Response.
“There were only 25 people in the nation who were selected to attend this school,” Olive said. “We learned how to deal with foreign and domestic threats and they taught us how to coordinate with other cities, governmental entities and agencies during emergencies. And this was before Homeland Security.”
Olive graduated from the course on Aug. 11, 2001, exactly one month to the day before the Twin Towers came down during the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks.
He did not go to New York City but was able to advise Baytown city officials on how they should prepare if an attack were to occur here.
“That day they called a special council meeting and I talked to council,” Olive said. “Here on the petrochemical coast there was a real threat because we didn’t know how many targets they had.”
In 1982, Olive became Battalion Chief and Assistant Chief/Fire Marshal in 1992. He has put his experience and knowledge to use in a variety of roles within the department, including serving as the city’s Emergency Management Coordinator from 1998 to 2007.
Olive developed and implemented a High Water Rescue Program and has represented the city as a guest instructor at Texas A&M Municipal Fire School for the past 34 years.
Olive is also widely known as the annual coordinator, chief cook and bottle washer for the July 4th parade and activities, a role he has enjoyed since 1976.
His list of professional organizations is just as long, but a notable connection is his role as past president of the Battleship Texas Volunteers.
Olive was head of the Fire and Rescue Party for the 1988 tow of the Battleship Texas when the ship was taken to Galveston for repairs.
Olive is a “master” of just about everything, wearing the title of Master Firefighter, Master Fire Inspector, Master Fire Investigator, and Master Peace Officer.
Baytown Fire Department Chief Shon Blake said Olive brings his expertise to the table, whether it is about fire response or emergency management.
“When we become stumped on something of historical significance, we go to Bernard about that too,” Blake said.
“It’s amazing his career has lasted so long but he stays because he loves the fire service and helping the community he was born and raised in,” he added.
Olive has an outgoing personality and is willing to help you at the drop of a hat, the chief said. And more often than not, “Bernard never meets a stranger.”
Over time, Olive has served with six fire chiefs. Chief L.V. Bailey hired him at the fire department.
Admitting that there were too many cases to count, Olive can’t recall the most memorable of all of the families he has helped escape blazing flames or save their homes and businesses from destruction.
He also can’t name families he had to approach and break the devastating news that a loved one had perished. Sometimes it was a child.
“People may not remember your face or your name, but they remember your words,” Olive said.
“If you believe in what the Bible teaches us, we move on to a better place,” he added. “The loss is still there and the pain is still there, but you have to treat people as human beings and I think about how I would feel if someone else had to tell me.”
Sometimes death struck close to home when it was the city’s firefighters who perished, such as when Capt. Kenneth Rowe died of a heart attack while at the scene of a house fire in 1975.
Or when Nito R. Guajardo died while fighting a blaze in 2004. Olive was acting chief when Guajardo perished.
“These deaths were traumatic for everyone. You admire men and women who devote their lives to public service and you hate to see them perish.”
Compassion and faith has gotten Olive – and others – through it all.
So has the support and love of his wife, Kathy Vaughan Olive. The couple celebrated their 43rd anniversary this year. They have a daughter, Martha, son-in-law Tim O’Daniel, and, of course, granddaughter Kathryn.
When all is said and done, Olive said he hopes that people remember how much he cared and that he tried to leave a better Baytown behind.
“I believe that a city is as good as its people and that’s why I chose to live in Baytown and have my career in Baytown,” Olive said. “The city is growing and with any city that is growing, there are growing pains. But it takes men and women to see that those pains dissolve and growth and prosperity continues.”
Bernard was born June 27, 1949 in Baytown, to parents; Bernard “Buddy” Clyde, Sr. and Aline Slagle Olive, and has been a lifelong resident of Baytown. His education included graduate of Robert E. Lee High School, an Associate’s Degree in Fire Protection Technology at San Jacinto College and later attending the Bush School of Government at Texas A&M University, receiving a certificate of completion in Leadership Development for Integrated Emergency Response. He was a veteran of the United States Army as a medic with the 565th Medical Ambulance Co., former Emergency Management Coordinator, and past president of the Battleship Texas Volunteers. He also held membership with St. John’s United Methodist Church and the Cedar Bayou Masonic Lodge. Chief Olive was the most tenured member of the fire department having been with the city just shy of 49 years; three years with public works and 45-plus years with the Baytown Fire Department, guest instructor at Texas A&M Municipal Fire School for the past 34 years, Master Firefighter, Master Fire Inspector, Master Fire Investigator, and Master Peace Officer.
Chief Olive was preceded in death by his parents and aunts and uncles: Wilmuth and Jim Foster, Charlie and Georgia Slagle, and Dorothy and Bill Curry, and numerous other aunts, uncles, and cousins. He is survived by his wife of 43 years: Kathy Vaughan Olive, daughter: Martha Olive O’Daniel and husband Timothy, granddaughter: Kathryn Colleen O’Daniel, brothers-in-law: Rick Vaughan and wife Margie and Dennis Vaughan, cousin: Angie Slagle Sigers and husband Hugh, nieces and nephews: Amber Vaughan, Stephen Vaughan, Jennifer Vaughan, Daniel Vaughan, and Emily Vaughan, numerous other relatives, and friends.
The family will receive friends from 4:30 p.m. to 8 p.m., Wednesday, at the Crespo & Jirrels Funeral Home Chapel. Funeral services will be held at 10:00 a.m., Thursday, April 12, 2018, at the Second Baptist Church located at 6227 N Main St, Baytown, TX 77521, with entombment at Cedarcrest Cemetery in Baytown, under the direction of Crespo & Jirrels Funeral and Creations Services.
For those who desire donations may be made to St. John’s United Methodist Church, 501 S. Alexander Dr., Baytown, Texas 77520, in Bernard’s name.
Baytown Sun, April 6, 2018
"Baytown Assistant Chief and Fire Marshal Bernard Olive died Thursday.
Chief Olive was the most tenured member of the fire department having been with the city just shy of 49 years; three years with public works and 45-plus years with the Baytown Fire Department. Look for more coverage and reaction in Sunday’s Baytown Sun.
In 2014, Chief Olive said that when all is said and done, he hopes that people remember how much he cared and that he tried to leave a better Baytown behind.
“I believe that a city is as good as its people and that’s why I chose to live in Baytown and have my career in Baytown,” Olive said. “The city is growing and with any city that is growing, there are growing pains. But it takes men and women to see that those pains dissolve and growth and prosperity continues.”
Chief Olive is survived by his beloved wife, Kathy, his daughter Martha and son-in-law Tim and his granddaughter Kathryn.
Funeral arrangements are pending."
"Here is the entire Aug 31, 2014 story profiling Chief Olive:
Fire marshal marks 45 years of service
By Eleska Aubespin
Fire Marshal and Assistant Chief Bernard Olive is the longest tenured employee of Baytown’s Fire Department.
For 45 years, Olive has made his way from city employee to the high ranks of the fire department and seen countless tragedies and triumphs along the way.
He marks that special anniversary this year.
Olive’s crowded office at the fire department’s building at 201 E. Wye Drive overflows with memorabilia, from small fire truck models to an old family heirloom that is a clock that dates back to 1850.
“But this is my favorite thing,” Olive said as he pointed to a photo of his granddaughter, Kathryn Coline O’Daniel, 8.
Everything has meaning and significance to Olive, including dated, yellow-faded photos and newspaper clippings that hang on his wall. Some depict his grandfather, C.H. Olive, and his great uncle, Joe Armata, both firefighters with the Pelly Fire Department.
His father, Bernard, worked in construction and the family lived in Baytown. As a child, Olive grew up only five blocks from the fire station and recalled time spent with Jim French, a Pelly firefighter who worked for the Baytown Fire Department once the cities merged.
“He was really a mentor,” Olive said. “When we talked, it interested me to no end and I just absorbed it like a sponge.”
That was only the beginning of his knowledge about the fire department and emergency management.
But that was not how he came to be employed with the City of Baytown.
He started work in the public works utilities division in 1969 after he returned home from military service with the United States Army. At that time, he was a medic with the 565th Medical Ambulance Company in the U.S. and Germany.
Olive took the job in public works because he was too young to become a firefighter.
Being a firefighter was a job he wanted to do in order to utilize medical skills from the Army and he wanted to be in public service.
But you had to be 21 years old to be a firefighter. So he worked in utilities then transferred to the fire department in 1973 as a driver.
Over the years, Olive continued his education and professional development with an Associate’s Degree in Fire Protection Technology at San Jacinto College in 1981 and later by attending the Bush School of Government at Texas A&M University, where he received a certificate of completion in Leadership Development for Integrated Emergency Response.
“There were only 25 people in the nation who were selected to attend this school,” Olive said. “We learned how to deal with foreign and domestic threats and they taught us how to coordinate with other cities, governmental entities and agencies during emergencies. And this was before Homeland Security.”
Olive graduated from the course on Aug. 11, 2001, exactly one month to the day before the Twin Towers came down during the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks.
He did not go to New York City but was able to advise Baytown city officials on how they should prepare if an attack were to occur here.
“That day they called a special council meeting and I talked to council,” Olive said. “Here on the petrochemical coast there was a real threat because we didn’t know how many targets they had.”
In 1982, Olive became Battalion Chief and Assistant Chief/Fire Marshal in 1992. He has put his experience and knowledge to use in a variety of roles within the department, including serving as the city’s Emergency Management Coordinator from 1998 to 2007.
Olive developed and implemented a High Water Rescue Program and has represented the city as a guest instructor at Texas A&M Municipal Fire School for the past 34 years.
Olive is also widely known as the annual coordinator, chief cook and bottle washer for the July 4th parade and activities, a role he has enjoyed since 1976.
His list of professional organizations is just as long, but a notable connection is his role as past president of the Battleship Texas Volunteers.
Olive was head of the Fire and Rescue Party for the 1988 tow of the Battleship Texas when the ship was taken to Galveston for repairs.
Olive is a “master” of just about everything, wearing the title of Master Firefighter, Master Fire Inspector, Master Fire Investigator, and Master Peace Officer.
Baytown Fire Department Chief Shon Blake said Olive brings his expertise to the table, whether it is about fire response or emergency management.
“When we become stumped on something of historical significance, we go to Bernard about that too,” Blake said.
“It’s amazing his career has lasted so long but he stays because he loves the fire service and helping the community he was born and raised in,” he added.
Olive has an outgoing personality and is willing to help you at the drop of a hat, the chief said. And more often than not, “Bernard never meets a stranger.”
Over time, Olive has served with six fire chiefs. Chief L.V. Bailey hired him at the fire department.
Admitting that there were too many cases to count, Olive can’t recall the most memorable of all of the families he has helped escape blazing flames or save their homes and businesses from destruction.
He also can’t name families he had to approach and break the devastating news that a loved one had perished. Sometimes it was a child.
“People may not remember your face or your name, but they remember your words,” Olive said.
“If you believe in what the Bible teaches us, we move on to a better place,” he added. “The loss is still there and the pain is still there, but you have to treat people as human beings and I think about how I would feel if someone else had to tell me.”
Sometimes death struck close to home when it was the city’s firefighters who perished, such as when Capt. Kenneth Rowe died of a heart attack while at the scene of a house fire in 1975.
Or when Nito R. Guajardo died while fighting a blaze in 2004. Olive was acting chief when Guajardo perished.
“These deaths were traumatic for everyone. You admire men and women who devote their lives to public service and you hate to see them perish.”
Compassion and faith has gotten Olive – and others – through it all.
So has the support and love of his wife, Kathy Vaughan Olive. The couple celebrated their 43rd anniversary this year. They have a daughter, Martha, son-in-law Tim O’Daniel, and, of course, granddaughter Kathryn.
When all is said and done, Olive said he hopes that people remember how much he cared and that he tried to leave a better Baytown behind.
“I believe that a city is as good as its people and that’s why I chose to live in Baytown and have my career in Baytown,” Olive said. “The city is growing and with any city that is growing, there are growing pains. But it takes men and women to see that those pains dissolve and growth and prosperity continues.”
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