WEST GLOUCESTER: Norman M. “Bub” Garland, Jr., 86, retired Gloucester firefighter, died early Sunday morning, January 10, 2010 following an extended illness.
Born in Gloucester on February 15, 1923, he was the son of the late Norman M. Garland, Sr. and Caroline H. (Middleton) Garland.
When enlisting in the Massachusetts National Guard, he lied about his age. He was seventeen and still in school when his guard unit was activated in January of 1941. He was scheduled for discharge in December, then on December 7th Pearl Harbor was attacked and the war was on. His field artillery unit became part of the Yankee Division. He served in England and landed on Omaha Beach several days after D-Day. He survived the Battle of the Bulge and followed the battle lines through Germany. An expert marksman, he was honorably discharged in October of 1945.
In 1948 he joined the Gloucester Fire Department and served until his retirement in 1985 at which time he proudly wore the #3 helmet. He had served as president of the Relief Association for several years and even though ill this year, he insisted on helping place the flags on Memorial Day.
During a blizzard in 1961, the Bradford Building on Main Street caught on fire and was engulfed in flames as fuel oil had been leaking in the basement. Many men were called to duty that evening; Bub being one of them. They all fought the flames valiantly as it was a daunting task. Norm barely escaped with his life when the walls started collapsing around him.
Aside from his duties as a Gloucester firefighter, he also established himself as an expert backhoe operator, astounding many with his ability and expertise. He would perform difficult tasks with ease and precision.
He always referred to West Gloucester as “his playground” having grown up in this area. One would see him herding cows from Cole’s Island, across Concord Street to Merchant Farm. According to his Army separation papers, his civilian job read “He fed, tended and milked cows. Is able to milk 10 cows an hour.” He also earned money digging clams off of what is now Jebecca Lane.
In later years, he excelled at softball, being on the firefighters’ side, of course, and saved his team with a no-hitter in 1966. He was an avid and accomplished golfer playing and winning many tournaments from Gloucester to Florida and achieved accolades for hitting a hole in one. He and his brother, Roy, would often travel to their camp in Maine for deer hunting season in November. His brother remembers one time that he fell asleep on a tree stump only to wake and find tracks of a deer that had walked right by him! He got that deer.
He is survived by his loving family, his children, Marie Frazier of Mt. Holly, VT, Judith Garland of Nashua, NH, Nancy Garland-Wren, and her husband Curtis of West Gloucester, Daniel Conrad and his wife, Melinda of Gloucester, and Tammi Ducharme and her husband, Steve of Lisbon Falls, ME, his grandchildren, Amie Whitney, Barry Ducharme, Travis Ducharme, Steve Robert Ducharme, Staci Conrad, Joshua Conrad, Kayla Dymond, Aleah Conrad, Gladwyn, Michael, Everett and Ronald Frazier and Ethan Wren, as well as twenty-one great-grandchildren. He is also survived by his brother and sister-in-law, Leroy “Roy” and Eleanore Garland of Gloucester, his sister, Esther Garland of FL, stepchildren and many step-grandchildren including Amy and her family, his godson, Ethan Parisi, cousins, including Bill Garland and among many dear friends Laura, Dougie MacArthur, Dave Cusick, Billy Newman, Earl Greenwood, Laurie and Jay Keefe. He was also predeceased by his sister and brother-in-law, Evelyn and Stilson Cleveland and good friend, Mo Roberts. Special thanks go to his extended family, Cheryl, Laura, Mary, Katie, Meghan and Raynee.
Visiting hours will be held on Wednesday in the Pike-Grondin Funeral Home, 61 Middle Street, Gloucester from 2 – 4 p.m. A memorial service will be held on Saturday, January 23rd in the Cape Ann Bible Church, Concord St., West Gloucester at 2 p.m. Relatives and friends are cordially invited to attend. In lieu of flowers, expressions of sympathy may be made in his memory to Nancy Garland-Wren, P. O. Box 3041, Gloucester, MA 01931. We wish to extend many thanks to Hospice of the North Shore for their care and comfort of our dad. So long Buddie. I’ll see you later, Daddy. We’ll miss your smile and that twinkle in your eye.