Robert James Vale Sr., 72, died March 8, 2011.

He was born in Newark, N.J., where he attended Arts High School, the first public school in the United States dedicated to the visual and performing arts.

He was a longtime resident of West Orange, N.J., 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 New Jersey 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. Kennedy's Air Force One, for which he received a special citation for his contributions to the presidential inauguration.

Until illness prevented him, he was active member of American Legion Post #201 in Alpharetta.

Survivors include his wife, Mary C. Vale; daughter, Dawn M. Vale-Kester of Harleysville, Pa.; sons, Kenneth P. Vale of Cumming, Michael J. Vale of Readington, N.J. and Robert J. Vale Jr. of Cumming; grandchildren, Grant Kester, Julia Kester, Gwen Kester, Nicholas Vale, Austin Vale, Katelynn Vale, Alexa Vale and Haley Vale.

Services were held at Ingram's Funeral Home in Cumming on March 14.

The Forsyth County Fire Department Honor Guard oversaw the services, transported the remains on a fire engine to the Georgia National Cemetery, where the Veteran's Alliance provided honors and presented the colors.

The family asked that in remembrance donations be made to the Forsyth County Humane Society, P.O. Box 337, Cumming, GA 30028.

Ingram Funeral Home and Crematory of Cumming was in charge of the arrangements.