When James Baumgardner retired from the Port Arthur Fire Department some 20 years ago, he penned a letter to his chief, Clifford Barbay.

“I loved every minute of working in the fire department and hope I have left a little of my fairness and standards behind,” the letter read.

His actions and the high standards he held for his “A” shift are still remembered years later as family and friends prepare to say their final goodbyes. Baumgardner, who worked at PAFD for over 44 years, died Monday at the age of 89.

Stephen Curran, who served as chief at both Port Arthur and Port Neches fire departments, started work at PAFD back in 1975 and was on Baumgerdner’s “A” shift, which he said did the lion’s share of innovation and work for the department. He later moved to another shift but said Baumgardner’s mentoring helped him in his career and along the way he learned something new about Baumgardner.

“I especially remember how Chief Baumgardner clipped an article out of the PA News about my promotion to deputy chief and had it laminated for me as I moved to the next rank above him,” Curran said.  “I didn’t think he was the sentimental type at the time, but he showed me that, despite that exterior, he was a man that cared about his men deeply in the PAFD.

“He always showed respect to his crews, like he did for me when I moved to the next rank. James is at the height of honor, respect, and integrity that you would expect a chief officer in the fire service to be. He will be missed, and I personally thank him for his help to me and for his service.”

PAFD Battalion Chief Robert Havens was not on the same shift as Baumgardner but knew he ran a tight ship.

“He was kind of rough and gruff around the edges but cared deeply about the job and it didn’t matter what the conditions were, whether it was hotter than hell outside or freezing cold, he was always going to be standing right there at the scene running the incident and there was never any doubt who was in command of an incident when he was on scene,” Havens said.

Baumgardner’s gruff exterior might have come from his strict upbringing or developed during time in the U.S. Army during the Korean War, his son, John Baumgardner, said. He remembers his dad as a person who paid attention to the little details.

“He would sit there and listen and it may not seem like he was listening to you but he knew everything going on,” his son said. “He was a real good listener and very slow to temper.”

Fire Chief Larry Richard called Baumgardner a no-nonsense man. And while Richard did not work on the “A” shift, he knew the stories of how Baumgardner ran the show — if you called in sick the first question would be ‘What’s the matter with you?’

“And it also made you scared to call in sick and you darn sure wasn’t going to call in if you weren’t sick,” Richard said with a laugh.

Havens remembers how Baumgardner held the firefighters to a high standard and performed station inspections leading to some jokes about “white glove” inspections. He didn’t put up with poor housekeeping and trucks not being clean and presentable.

“He ran the shift like he was a drill instructor and we were all his troops,” Havens said. “But we knew what he expected and he expected performance. He cared a lot about the job and his employees and if he got on to you it was because you needed it.”

Baumgardner was a product of his times, he said.

“A lot of guys who worked for the fire department who hired on were veterans who came out of World War II and the Korean War and that kind of shaped the department for a number of years,” he said, adding that Baumgardner saw a major transition from open cabs and wooden ladders to enclosed fire apparatus in his 44 years, five months and 18 days of service.

Baumgardner was a native of Greenville, Texas who graduated from Thomas Jefferson High School in 1948. He was married to his high school sweetheart, Dorothy Angelle. He loved spending time with family, organic gardening and the outdoors.

Contributions may be made to the National Fallen Firefighters Foundation.

Services will be with Clayton Thompson Funeral Home and he will have a full firefighter’s funeral.