In honor of Firefighter/Paramedic Helen Christine “Gracey” Humbert, Botetourt County Fire & EMS shared details about her arrangements over the weekend in the following post on its Facebook page.
Remembrance services for Humbert will be held outdoors on Wednesday, April 13, at 658 Humbert Road in Troutville. The family will receive guests at 5:30 p.m., and the memorial service will begin at 6 p.m., followed immediately by a sunset celebration of life.
Class A uniforms will be for honor guard attendees only. All other guests, including Fire & EMS, are asked to dress comfortably and bring a covered dish to share during the celebration of life.
Parking will be in the farm’s fields. SUVs, response vehicles, or front-wheel drive vehicles are recommended– no engines, ladders, or ambulances other than those already arranged due to the weight of the vehicles. Please consider donating to the Virginia Law Enforcement Assistance Program (VALEAP) in lieu of flowers.
Botetourt Fire & EMS issued the following memoriam:
Our Gracey:
To know and love someone that has lived “Gracefully” is a gift. Born Helen and renaming herself Gracey was recognition of the life she’d live. A life of love, service, and joy that truly graced everyone who had the good fortune to know her. Gracey had deep faith in love, who created us all and is in us all.
One of her friends described Gracey by saying that literally every single person that has ever crossed her path… even if only for a brief moment, felt her caring spirit. So respected. So loved. So admired. That laugh, those hugs, the endless fighting spirit, the grit, the stubbornness, her endless capacity to love and care, those curls, that time zone that only she was aware of (GST), her willingness and desire to feed every living creature, her taste for super sweet coffee, her love of nature and sunsets (sunrises were too early), the infinite love and pride for her daughter, love of family and her love of all those around her, and her fierce determination to take care of everyone… all the while fighting for her own life with breast cancer for six years.
She was a healer by nature, and one that never met a stranger, and someone who is mourned by an entire city and community. We all felt like her best friend, her sister, her child, and touched by her generosity of spirit; we felt encouraged to love and lift each other higher. Gracey is best known for her positive and outgoing personality, described by many as the most compassionate and caring person you would ever meet.
She was a strong, determined woman who impacted many lives in and out of the Fire-EMS profession, and her passion to serve her community never wavered.
Seeing her mother, Norma Pattison Wirt, work as an RN and watching her father, Doug Wirt, run calls with Cave Spring Rescue Squad, Gracey started volunteering there as a teen in 1988. Responding to many calls with her father led Gracey to decide to make EMS her career.
Gracey joined Roanoke Emergency Medical Services in 1993 as an EMT. After the 1995 merger that created Roanoke Fire-EMS, Gracey became a firefighter/EMT and eventually earned her paramedic certification. From 2003 until 2011, Gracey served the city as a part-time paramedic. In 2009, she joined Botetourt County Fire & EMS as a firefighter/paramedic, where she went on to achieve the rank of captain. She delivered therapeutic massage magic through Grace Yoga Studio, where she was a well-loved part of that community.
In addition to her careers, Gracey would tell you that her greatest accomplishment in life was being a loving mom, partner, and family member.
Gracey is survived by her beloved kids, Camille, Grace, and Max; her life partner, Christopher Stump; her sisters, Melissa Wirt and Laura Morris; Camille’s dad, William Humbert; her nieces, Allison Wilhelm, Whitney Morris, and Christina Gill, her aunts, uncles, cousins, and her beloved family in Botetourt Fire and EMS, Roanoke Fire-EMS and Cave Spring Rescue Squad.
Rest easy, Gracey. We will honor your legacy by trying to live more “Gracefully.”
