Harvey Bruce Maker, retired Richmond fire captain, dies

Richmond Fire Capt. Harvey Bruce Maker displayed a cool head when the alarm sounded at his fire station.

"I never did see him get excited at fires . . . probably from his upbringing and his being in the Marine Corps," said retired Fire Capt. John E. Hinant, who worked with him at Engine Company 21 on Jefferson Davis Highway.

"He knew his job well. You got a fair deal from him. I never knew anyone that didn't respect Harvey."

Mr. Maker, who spent 30 years with the department before retiring from Engine Company 14 at Brookland Park Boulevard and Hawthorne Avenue, will be remembered at a graveside service today, Friday, at 1 p.m. in Sunset Memorial Park in Chester.

The Chester resident, who died Tuesday, joined the Richmond Bureau of Fire on May 30, 1959, at Engine Company 1 at 24th and Broad streets.

"Back then he was health-conscious. While the other guys were eating meat and potatoes, he was eating salads and stuff like that. They were asking, 'What's wrong with this guy?'" Hinant said. "He ran and exercised. He was a fitness guru."

His colleagues soon discovered, Hinant said, that Mr. Maker was a bodybuilder whose attention to diet helped him win the titles of "Mr. Richmond" and "Mr. Norfolk" during the 1950s. A svelte physique was a plus when he raced through smoking buildings.

The Newport News native was promoted to lieutenant in 1969 while on the A Shift at Engine Company 13 on East Commerce Road and to captain in 1981 at Engine Company 21, where he retired in 1989.

He also had been chairman of the fire bureau's apparatus committee, which inspected equipment for cleanliness and safety.

Survivors include his wife of 56 years, Ann M. Maker; two daughters, Jessie A. Maker and Hope M. Maker, both of Richmond; a sister, Hope Farrell of Tucson, Ariz.; two brothers, Cecil M. Maker of Dundas and LeRoy Maker III of Chesterfield; and three grandchildren and one great-granddaughter.