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Retired Port Neches Fire Captain Curtis Trahan is being remembered for a number of attributes, from his dependability and dedication to the department, as a person who would never shirk their duties and one who was jovial.

Trahan, 69, died Saturday.

Former Chief Stephen Curran called him a firefighters’ firefighter.

“He was a foundation to the Port Neches Fire Department years ago,” Curran said. “If you needed to get a certain task done, he was the guy to get it done. He was going to put the fire out and he was going to protect people while he did it.”

Curran said Trahan had a dry sense of humor.

“You could be shooting the breeze with him and he’d fire a shot and you didn’t know until it was over,” he said of the man’s humor.

Trahan was well loved by the community and by the firefighters he worked with.

Curran was chief in Port Neches from 2004 to his own retirement in 2016.

Trahan was part of the department for 43 years and was the longest serving firefighter in the department. He retired in 2018.

Fire Chief Eloy Vega said, unfortunately, he did not have the honor of working with Trahan personally but knows he left a positive impression on the department and left behind a legacy that will be with the department for years to come.

“His professionalism and compassion for the fire service and community is a model for us to follow,” Vega said. “We will honor him and his memory.”

Vega offered condolences to Trahan’s family and friends.

Assistant Fire Chief Mike Stegall worked with Trahan for almost 33 years.

“Curtis was the most happy-go-lucky person,” Stegall said. “He was always jovial. He enjoyed working with the guys and everyone enjoyed working with him.”

Stegall stopped short of calling Trahan a workaholic but noted his work as firefighter and with a concrete business. On his days off from the fire department he was busy at work finishing concrete.

Trahan was the longest tenured paid firefighter with the department.

Former Chief Ken Doise was hired the same year as Trahan, 1974.

“If you needed something done, you’d say you needed it done and it kind of happened,” said Doise, who served as chief from 1989 to 2004. “He didn’t know how strong he was. He was like a bull. At a fire scene he was Mr. Dependable.”

Doise spoke of Trahan’s sense of humor.

“He was a hoot. He kept you laughing. He was one of those guys that was dependable. Always had something going and if they were bad, he made it a little lighter. He loved to eat. He was just fun.”

Trahan’s death is a loss to all, he said.

Graveside services for Trahan will held today.

Mary Meaux is a news reporter at The Port Arthur News. She can be reached at mary.meaux@panews.com.