TERRA, Tooele County — Terra has always been a town where you could truly get away from it all.
However, even with just a few hundred people living in this part of Tooele County, it feels emptier now. Gerry Neil, the longtime chief of the Terra Fire Department, passed away a few days ago after getting home from a family reunion.
“He actually stayed longer than he normally would,” said Jeff Neil, Gerry Neil’s son. “He seemed high-spirited. Very joking as usual.”
Growing up, Jeff Neil knew his father was important to the community.
“People would just show up at our house all hours of the night,” he said with a laugh. “They would say I am stuck or I broke down. He never told nobody no.”
It was that kind of care he had for others that made Neil a natural leader. Not only did he form the Terra Fire Department 44 years ago, but he has been its chief since day one.
“He was that kind of guy that when he walked up if you were in a panic situation, you knew you were going to be okay,” Jeff Neil said.
KSL-TV talked to Gerry Neil a couple of years ago when Terra received its first brand-new fire truck. Neil had always begged and bartered for used trucks from other departments to keep his going because, as he told us, service to others and helping those in need were important to him.
“I want them to know there is somebody local who knows right where they are at that can come help them with whatever situation,” Gerry Neil said during that 2022 interview.
Tooele County’s fire warden never worried whenever there was an emergency in Terra.
“Gerry is irreplaceable,” said Tooele County Fire Warden Dan Walton. “We could trust him to be there faster than anybody. He would always get there first. He would always just bring a calm sense to the situation and help those who needed it.”
Neil loved Terra and the surrounding area. Maybe it was the peace and quiet that appealed to him, after serving in Vietnam.
“It meant a lot to him,” Jeff Neil said. “He loved serving the residents. Right up to his dying day he was here at this fire station nine to five every day.”
Neil was Tooele County’s longest-serving volunteer.
There is no doubt he will be missed.
“The whole community. He loved them just as much as they loved him,” Jeff Neil said.
Funeral services are planned for Saturday, Sept. 28th at 11 a.m. at the Terra Fire Station.
Firefighters from departments across the county and state are expected to be there, as well as the military to give Neil a military funeral.
