Longtime chaplain for Champaign, Urbana first responders dies at 73-years-old

VIDEO: Pastor David Ashby, chaplain for the Champaign and Urbana Fire and Police Departments, died Saturday at the age of 73. Ashby also led his own congregation at Trinity Community Fellowship in Farmer City.

Urbana Fire Department Deputy Chief Steven Doggett said he was always there for firefighters through both the good and bad.

โ€œI canโ€™t even recall how many weddings he officiated for the firefighters in the Champaign-Urbana area, unfortunately, several funerals too,โ€ Doggett said.

Doggett said public service runs in the longtime chaplainโ€™s family. His father Willard was Champaignโ€™s Fire Chief, his two sons were both firefighters โ€” one in Urbana and the other in Champaign โ€” and now his grandson is joining the family business as well.

WCIA-TV CBS 3 Champaign

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