Fire Lt. Menard gave his life for others

    WORCESTER – “Yes.”
    That was Lt. Jason J. Menard’s
           answer.
The question? “Can anything good come from Worcester?”
The member of the Worcester Fire Department answered with his life.
Father Walter J. Riley, chaplain of Worcester Firefighters and pastor of Immaculate Conception Parish, made these points in his homily at Lt. Menard’s funeral Monday at St. John Church on Temple Street.
The main celebrant was Bishop McManus, who is friendly with Lt. Menard’s mother and step-father, Cheryl (Pike) Kelly and Peter D. Kelly. About a dozen priests concelebrated and a deacon assisted.
Mr. Kelly’s uncle Msgr. Francis D. Kelly, a Worcester diocesan priest who is a canon at St. Peter’s Basilica in the Vatican, wrote in an email that at 83 he was unable to come for the funeral. But that didn’t stop him from praising Lt. Menard.
“He literally laid down his life to save two of his fellow firefighters,” Msgr. Kelly wrote. “As Scripture tells us ‘there is no greater love’ – he is a true hero.”
The 39-year-old lieutenant died Nov. 13 from injuries suffered in a four-alarm fire at 7 Stockholm St. He reportedly had planned to leave for Disney World with his wife, Tina, and their three children later that day.
But early that morning the member of Ladder 5 went with others into a burning multi-family home in response to initial calls to the department that a baby and a woman were inside, said Deputy Chief Martin Dyer of the Worcester Fire Department. Lt. Menard helped members of his crew get to safety, and others tried to rescue him.
He died as the city approaches the 20th anniversary of the Worcester Cold Storage and Warehouse Co. fire that claimed the lives of six firefighters on Dec. 3, 1999. Other Worcester firefighters being remembered as killed in the line of duty since then are Jon Davies (Dec. 8, 2011) and Christopher Roy (Dec. 9, 2018).
In the homily for Lt. Menard’s funeral, Father Riley compared Worcester with Jesus’ hometown of Nazareth – a community where people support each other.
Father Riley recalled how the disciple Nathanael, when hearing of Jesus, asked, “Can anything good come from Nazareth?” (Jn 1:46)
The answer was, “Yes, the source of goodness itself.”
Lt. Menard’s sacrifice fully answered the question, “Can anything good come from Worcester?” Father Riley said. His death took that “yes” to its highest form.
Father Riley asked why the lieutenant had to so selflessly answer that question, why he had to take it to the extreme of laying down his life.
The “very, very, very hard” answer is that “This is what they do,” Father Riley said of firefighters. He said Lt. Menard’s goodness was made possible by his unconditional love for his family, and that he was consistent in how he loved.
Father Riley noted that Scripture says, “Let your ‘yes’ mean ‘yes’ and your ‘no’ mean ‘no.’”
“OK, Lord,” he said. “Our answer is ‘yes’ and his name is Lt. Menard.”
He talked about Jesus raising to life the son of the widow of Nain as a sign of his love. (Lk 7:11-17)
“We’re not here to test God and how much he loves us,” Father Riley said. He said he’d prayed for God to bring back Lt. Menard’s spirit, but also spoke of being open to God’s will.
“God wanted something good from Worcester” – and got it – Lt. Menard, he said.
“Jason is one of us … born and raised here,” he said. He married his high school sweetheart, had “three awesome kids,” was delighted to be a lieutenant in the Fire Department, and enjoyed life.
“His 39 years were like 89 for someone else,” Father Riley said, but that doesn’t “lessen our hurt.”
He told of being struck by seeing a craft in the Menard’s home which says, “Home is where the story begins.”
“Jason has shifted homes,” he said. “Hopefully he’s enjoying some pumpkin. He waits for all of you” – especially his family.
“Can anything good come from Worcester? Yes. He’s right here in front of us. May he rest in peace.”
Before the Liturgy of the Eucharist, Lt. Michael Papagni, president of the  IAFF Local 1009 (International Association of Fire Fighters), and Capt. Terrance Baudin, vice president of the IAFF, conducted the bell ceremony.
Lt. Papagni said bells signal the beginning of firefighters’ shifts, the end of their duties and a comrade’s passing. Capt. Baudin rang a bell in three sets of five rings to signify Lt. Menard’s “last alarm,” as he was “going home.”
Following the bell-ringing, the Martin E. Pierce Commemorative Line-of-Duty Death Medal, was presented to Lt. Menard’s family by Edward Kelly, general secretary - treasurer of the IAFF; Lt. Jay Colbert, IAFF District 3 vice president, and Lt. Papagni.
After Communion Daniel Pace spoke on behalf of his brother, Christopher Pace, hospitalized from injuries sustained at the fire, from which Lt. Menard helped him escape.
“Chris was ready to fight off every doctor and nurse to be here today,” his brother said.
Daniel Pace asked how anyone can thank a person and family for the kind of sacrifice Lt. Menard made.
“His action is the reason my only brother is here today,” he said. He said Lt. Menard is his brother’s hero, his hero, his family’s hero.
He told the Menard family everyone grieves with them, and “thank you” will never be enough.
Lt. John Dwyer, president emeritus of IAFF Local 1009, then gave a eulogy. He said the lieutenant loved being with family and friends and rarely missed an event for the children.
“He gave everybody their own time,” he said.
In the fire department, he was the person who got things done.
Lt. Dwyer thanked those who came, including Massachusetts Gov. Charlie Baker and firefighters from the United States and Canada. He thanked the family for giving more support back to those who offered them support.
After people processed out of the church, bagpipes played and the casket was lifted onto Engine 4 for a trip through the city to St. John Cemetery for a private interment.

PHOTO:
Mourners process to receive Communion during the funeral of Worcester Fire Lt. Jason Menard.
Photo courtesy of the Telegram & Gazette