Sidney "Sid" Hall

Sidney "Sid" Hall was born in 1954 in Portland, Indiana, to Arthur and Wanda Hall. Sid first lived in Upland as a student at Taylor University, and he remained in Upland after graduating in 1977, taking his first job in the university's Buildings and Grounds Department. He was known for his dedicated and steadfast work when helping take care of the many maintenance needs and working with the various programs on campus. Later, Sid became Maintenance Supervisor at Taylor., In 1997, Sid went to work for Building Control Systems in Fort Wayne as a heating and cooling controls installer, which would send him to Taylor's campus to do heating and cooling work. While he worked at Taylor University, he would wear his fire pager and, showing his devotion to helping Upland, would respond when there was a fire call., Sid was a 15-year veteran firefighter for the Upland Volunteer Fire Department. He was an Indiana First Class Firefighter with an Indiana Master in Arson Investigation, and he was a certified NFPA Fire Instructor. During his firefighting career, he held the positions of Training Coordinator and Secretary. Every October. Sid talked to Upland elementary school children about fire safety. Sid shared his love for the fire service with his sons. They often spent time together cleaning a fire truck, checking gear, or fixing something around the fire station. Sid's wife and sons joined him in riding the fire truck in parades or making water runs for the firefighters when they were at fire calls. Sid and his sons would spend the whole summer in the garage preparing the boys' cars for the department's Apple Crate Derby. His son Matt followed in Sid's footsteps and is a firefighter/EMT., Sid was active in Taylor University's Accutrack (track and field finish line) and trained both of his sons who then worked beside him. Sid and his wife participated in the Upland United Methodist Church handbell choir and played piano duets. Sid was also the church's sound tech, and he repaired and replaced the church's sound system. Sid played his trumpet at U.S. Military burial services in Grant County, in the Mississinewa Valley Band, and in the Grant County Salvation Army band alongside his son Christopher., On January 3, 2007, Sid responded to a residence fire with the Upland Volunteer Fire Department. He was the first to enter a smoke-filled house, and he fell through a hole in the floor. He was rescued and airlifted to Parkview Hospital in Fort Wayne. Sid passed away peacefully on January 5 in the line of duty., Sid was a loving husband to his wife, Bonnie, and a dedicated father to his sons Christopher and Matthew. He was always ready to help anyone in need. He never thought of himself as a hero:; helping people and making sure they were safe was just part of life for him. Being part of the fire department was not a job; it was a calling of his heart. It is fitting that Sid has been honored as a recipient of the Medal of Valor, the Distinguished Hoosier Award, and as a "Gift of Life” donor, for that is the kind of man he was he gave his life for others.