By Don Rush

Last week area residents may have noticed the American flag was at half mast last week at Station #1 of Oxford Fire Department on N. Washington St. Members of the lost one of their own, firefighter/paramedic Shawn Goldie.

Goldie’s one year anniversary with the department was May 2. He passed away “peacefully” on April 28, 2023, after a battle with glioblastoma multiforme – brain tumor. He was 51-years-old.

“Shawn and I worked together at Universal Macomb Ambulance back back around 1989 to 1991, back before we entered the fire service,” Oxford Fire Chief Matt Majestic said. “He retired as Battalion Chief from the Saint Clair Shores Fire Department in 2022 and then reached out to me because he saw we were taking applications. He fit like a glove here. He brought a wonderful attitude to our department, always had a smile on his face. He changed the dynamics with our crew here because of his past experience. He was a gem of a guy.”

According to his obituary, Goldie earned associate degrees in Fire Science and Paramedic Science from Macomb Community College and became a professional firefighter on April 28, 1997, when he joined the Saint Clair Shores Fire Department and retired from there on April 22, 2022.

Majestic said it was six months and 22 days from the day Goldie was diagnosed with the tumor until the day he passed.

Oxford Assistant Fire Chief Randy Vesper had also known Goldie for about 24 years. “He was a great, all around person, a good leader and well respected in the service and liked. He was very dedicated to his family and fire service. When he left St. Clair Shores, he still felt he had a lot to give the service. He was a great friend. He always put others before himself.”

He was the son of Donald and Virginia Goldie, born on July 30, 1971, in Warren, Michigan. He is survived by his wife of 22 years, Andrea and his children Nicholas and Jenna Rose, and his brother Scott.

He was a 1989 graduate of Sterling Heights High School.

According to his obituary, “Watching his son Nick play hockey and spending time with his daughter, Jenna, were his favorite passions. He was an avid golfer and enjoyed life’s simple pleasures; being with family and friends, having his dogs, TJ and Cocoa, by his side and on his lap, and spending mornings in the backyard having coffee with his wife, Andrea, talking about anything and everything, and making plans for their future.”

His funeral was at Bethesda Christian Church in Sterling Heights.