Gregory B. Powers

Gregory B. Powers passed away peacefully June 6, 2013. He was a Fire Specialist with the Austin Fire Department with thirty years of service. Gregory went by Pat Powers to friends, family, and as the owner of Austin ~ German Chimney Sweeps, which he ran for twenty years with the help of many AFD firefighters. He supported the work of the Driftwood Wildlife Association after finding a nest of baby Chimney Swifts in a chimney he was sweeping.

Pat is survived by his wife, Carolyn Powers and daughters, Marrilee Ratcliffe husband Dave Umlas; Sarah Skidmore fiancé Kaleb Allen; parents Charles W. and Nancy Powers; sister Carol Ann Smith; brother David G. Powers wife Liza; and many wonderful aunts, uncles, niece and nephews.

THE FOLLOWING WAS PREPARED BY ANDRE JORDAN

Retired Fire Specialist Gregory Powers passed away on Thursday, July 6, 2013, at the age of 58. He joined AFD in 1982, and retired in May, 2012, with 30 years and 5 months of service. During his AFD career, Greg was assigned to stations 1, 6, 20, 24, 29, 7, 26, 35, 40, 15, 38, and 10, almost all on the A Shift. He went by Greg at the station, but friends also knew him as Pat.

Greg grew up in Dallas and attended UT Austin for several years, majoring in business and accounting. When Greg worked at Station 20, Retired Captain Frank German got him interested in chimney sweeping. Greg started his own business, Austin-German Chimney Sweeps, and ran it for twenty years, hiring Austin firefighters to help him. Fire Specialist Hugh Woodard worked with him on and off-duty, and says that Greg was both a hard worker and a customer-service oriented employer.

Hugh relates that while performing a primary search with Truck 20 at a house fire, Greg yelled “bringing out a body,” and came outside carrying a dog. His coworkers teased him about it, but Greg didn’t mind, because he liked animals so much, and the dog survived.

Friends describe Greg as passionate, direct, and good-hearted. He did volunteer work, was active in church, and enjoyed attending jazz festivals and sporting events. He also loved nature. Inspired by the discovery of a nest of swifts in a chimney he was cleaning, Greg built a chimney swift habitat (i.e., a chimney) in his back yard.

A memorial service and inurnment will be held at 10 AM Friday, June 21, 2013, at All Saints’ Episcopal Church, 209 W. 27th Street, Austin, Texas. A reception will be held afterwards in the fellowship hall. The family asks that, in lieu of flowers, a donation be made to the Driftwood Wildlife Association http://www.chimneyswifts.org/