Austin Firefighter's Funeral Services Held In San Antonio

Austin TX

07 September, 2021

3:51 PM

Description

AUSTIN, TX — Funeral services were held in San Antonio on Tuesday for an Austin Fire Department firefighter who died of COVID-19 in late August. Rod Kelley, a 20-year-veteran for the department, died Aug. 29 after suffering complications from the virus. He was 56. Visitation services for Kelley took place Monday in San Antonio and his funeral services took place Tuesday afternoon at Coker United Methodist Church in San Antonio. A procession was also held in his honor. "Rod was known by reputation as being a very hard worker. Although he was teased for being tight with his money, he was generous to a fault for those in need, for a good cause and for those he loved. He was devoted to family and extremely loyal to those he called friends," his obituary reads. Arrangements for our brother, FF Rod Kelley, have been finalized. We wanted to share them so that those who might wish to attend may do so. Note that all COVID-19 protocols will be in effect (social distancing, masks) for in-person attendees: https://t.co/HIeR4WM8EH AFD pic.twitter.com/joZrbHuPxA— Austin Fire Dept (@austinfiredept) September 4, 2021 Last week, the department tweeted a photo of Kelley announcing his death and asked to community to "keep his family, friends, and crew in your thoughts and prayers." Kelley is one of three Austin first responders to die from COVID-19 in the past few weeks. Two Austin police officers died within a day of each other two weeks ago after losing their battle with the virus. A bill passed by Texas legislators earlier this year that first responders, including fire fighters and police officers who contract the coronavirus are presumed to do "during the course and scope of their employment." The President of the Austin Firefighters Association told the American-Statesman on Aug. 30 that about 24 city firefighters were confirmed to have COVID-19. RELATED COVERAGE: Child Dies Of COVID-19, 1st Death In Austin-Travis County Funeral Services Set For Austin PD Officer Randy Boyd 2nd Austin PD Officer Dies Of COVID-19