SPOKANE, Wash. — It was a day of remembrance for a firefighter who left an impact on everyone he touched.
Multiple fire agencies gathered in North Spokane to honor the life of Ron Cato.
Cato is a man leaving a profound impact.
“There probably wasn’t a firefighter in the audience today that wasn’t trained by Ron or knows someone trained by Ron,” Ron's son, Chris, said.
Chris Cato says his dad influenced him to become a firefighter himself.
“He was a provider," Chris Cato said. "He was a great role model, and he's somebody that I will miss dearly.”
Cato was a battalion chief for Pend Oreille County Fire District 2 and a volunteer captain with Spokane County Fire District 10. He served in his roles for more than three decades.
More than a dozen fire and other law enforcement vehicles took part in a procession from Spokane Valley all the way to North Spokane to honor Cato.
“He always wanted me to be better," Cato's daughter Sarah Williams said. "He always wanted me to push myself a little harder than the guys in the department.”
Williams hopes to continue her father’s legacy.
“I'm gonna try to be a little bit more like him. I'm going to try to make sure I'm always helping people," Williams said.
In addition to firefighting, Cato’s family says Cato was an EMS instructor, boy scout leader, and firefighter trainer.
Firefighters and law enforcement officials came from all over the region to celebrate Cato’s life.
“Ron was a very positive individual. He was the type of person who brought out the very best in people," Mark Sams said.
Sams lives right next door to the station Cato worked out.
“Ron was the guy," Sams said. "He was a positive, just a beautiful human being, and he touched everyone. He really did, and they were very, very lucky to have him.”
Cato passed away after a year long battle with brain cancer on May 30th of this year. Cato’s passing is considered a line of duty death since the cancer was caused by Cato’s many years of firefighting.
The last fire station Cato served at will be renamed 'Ron Cato Fire Station 25.'
To watch the funeral in its full length, click on the Youtube video below.
DOWNLOAD THE KREM SMARTPHONE APP
DOWNLOAD FOR IPHONE HERE | DOWNLOAD FOR ANDROID HERE
HOW TO ADD THE KREM+ APP TO YOUR STREAMING DEVICE
ROKU: add the channel from the ROKU store or by searching for KREM in the Channel Store.
Fire TV: search for "KREM" to find the free app to add to your account. Another option for Fire TV is to have the app delivered directly to your Fire TV through Amazon.
To report a typo or grammatical error, please email webspokane@krem.com.