John Voelker aka Johnny V The Toy King

May the road rise to meet you
May the wind be always at your back
The sun shine warm upon your face
The rains fall soft upon your fields
And until we meet again,
May God hold you in the hollow of his hand.

Special Announcement
We celebrated John with a funeral mass and "gala" on Saturday December 10th. The rosary and mass was at St. Monicas Church in San Francisco. Motorcycle riders attending John Voelker's Service on Saturday, December 10, 2005 numbered in the hundreds. . .guests numbered over one thousand. . . After the mass there was a motorcycle and fire department procession from St. Monica's Church to the Irish Cultural Center for a reception. view the pictures of the mass and the ride

12/5/2005 3:09:29 AM (CST) Hello everyone, it is with the heaviest of hearts that I type this.Our beautiful brother Johnny passed on last night into the waiting arms of our parents. John's stay at the hospice was very short but it showed us that Johnny knew it was time. He fought a brave and unbelievable fight,but it is time to rest.We know that he is in a better place and is already up there having a good laugh about something. He will be missed forever but always in our hearts and thoughts.Thanks again to everyone for your support during this time. Thanks again all our love the Voelkers Support and update page . Johnny Voelker aka Johnny V member Wind and Fire MC . You are viewing NitrosMike's Tribute page to Johnny V

12/5/2005 9:42:00 PM (CST) Thank you all for the avalanche of love crashing around us! We appreciate you all. We appreciate the calls, the messages on Support Circle, and of course your warmth and love over this long, tough year. Thank you, crew of Station 6 and the firefighters who had the joy of being at John's bedside at the moment he passed last night. The guys said John had layed there for a long time with his eyes closed, breathing softly, when suddenly he opened his eyes, looked calmly around and stopped breathing, and died. It was all that simple and peaceful. We will forever be grateful that those firefighters were there at the bedside, keeping John company in those last moments of his life. Johnnie never liked being alone. Today we received many calls from the hospice staff at "Coming Home" and Kaiser. Every nurse, social worker and doctor was flabbergasted that John had gone so quickly. Every one of them had predicted that John (given his age and relatively strong condition) would last for weeks. We weren't surprised at all. we told them "you don't know our brother". We really feel that he had made the decision to "move on", and was just making sure we were all okay with it, as well as waiting for us to return him to his "home turf" in San Francisco. With the stage set, and his loved ones around him, John made his exit. We treasure the years we had together, and hope we can face our future without him with as much grace and humor we can muster. Johnnie V would want that. We'll be celebrating John at a viewing and rosary on Friday December 9th, with a funeral mass and "gala" on Saturday December 10th. The rosary and mass will be at St. Monicas Church in San Francisco. Watch this site for eact times and the location of the "gala" (hopefully the Irish Cultural Center in San Francisco). Hang in there everyone--thank you again for the love and support.

 

 

Alisa Ann Ruch Burn Foundation article re Famed volunteer Johnny V and Wind and Fire MC (see page 6)

Alisa Ann Ruch Burn Foundation Johnny's passion

Hello volunteers, It is with great sadness that we bring you the news of volunteer John Voelker passing away. For those of you that never met Johnny-V, reading below will give you an idea of the kind of man John was, he impacted many burn survivors, staff and other volunteers at the Burn Foundation in unexplainable ways. Feel free to contact the Foundation with any questions you might have. Information for John’s services are listed at the bottom of the article. BeckyHere’s the Article in the Chronicle:
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2005/12/06/BAGJNG3HTU1.DTL&hw=john+voelker&sn=001&sc=1000
John Voelker -- firefighter and 'Santa'
- Carl Nolte, Chronicle Staff Writer
Tuesday, December 6, 2005

December was always John Voelker's favorite time of the year: The days were cool and crisp, the holiday lights would come on at dusk, and Christmas was in the air.

Mr. Voelker was the head, the heart and the soul of the San Francisco Firefighters' Toy Program, which gave away 250,000 toys to needy children at Christmastime. He helped any kid who needed help. They called him "the king of toys.''

He died Sunday night at San Francisco's Coming Home Hospice. He was 49. He had been in a coma for 10 months after a motorcycle accident in San Francisco.

"He was a tremendous guy,'' said San Francisco Fire Chief Joanne Hayes-White.

"He was a very special man who cared about everything,'' said fire Captain Tony Smerdel, who knew Mr. Voelker since they were in high school together. "John was a big man, over 300 pounds, but he was all heart.''

Mr. Voelker served 27 years as a San Francisco firefighter and won two meritorious awards for his work in the line of duty. But his avocation was helping people. He took over the volunteer toy program 11 years ago and made it a huge success, working from an old firehouse on Third Street near the baseball park. He and other firefighters turned the firehouse into a kind of Santa's workshop, collecting and storing toys, stuffed bears, dolls, baseball mitts and toy dinosaurs.

"He was a big, jolly guy, a big Santa Claus in the best possible way,'' said his sister, Denise.

"He was bigger than life in all ways,'' said Battalion Chief Brendan Ward.

John Voelker was always proud that he was born in San Francisco. He graduated from Riordan High School, then took the civil service examination for firefighter and entered the department in 1978. His father, also named John Voelker, had been a battalion chief.

The younger Voelker worked at Station 44 in Visitacion Valley, then at Truck 9, not far away on Carroll Avenue. He loved the city with a passion. While other San Franciscans moved to the suburbs, he stayed. "A true native son,'' his sister, Denise, said.

One of his proudest moments came when Gavin Newsom, who had just been elected mayor, asked Mr. Voelker to show him around the troubled Visitacion Valley neighborhood. Mr. Voelker, who owned a home in the neighborhood, had a typically upbeat message, "The area is finally starting to come up,'' he liked to say.

As a young firefighter, he volunteered for the toy program. Not long after, he was taking three months of unpaid leave to work on it, and he later became the chairman.

He increased the donations and got a big rig, got it painted by Bill Graham Presents, loaded it up with toys and took it around the city. They called it "Santa's Workshop on Wheels.''

Christmas was the high point of his season, but Mr. Voelker's efforts lasted year round. He volunteered for the Alisa Ann Ruch Burn Foundation, which helped children who were burn victims, and spent summer days off as a camp counselor at the foundation's Camp Champ in the San Joaquin Valley. "He was a very dedicated guy, a volunteer extraordinaire,'' said Los Angeles city firefighter Dan Gaytan, who also helped with the program.

He also was active in the Bothin Burn Foundation.

Mr. Voelker also sent toys to children left homeless by floods in California and to victims of the Northridge earthquake and other disasters. "He was a first responder in every sense,'' said his sister. He also worked in homeless shelters and in shelters for battered women.

He was a member of the Wind and Fire motorcycle club, and was on his way to a fundraising meeting on his Harley-Davidson motorcycle on Jan. 29 when a truck turned sharply in front of him and he smashed into it. Mr. Voelker was wearing a helmet, but he was so badly hurt he never recovered.

For months his family and friends hoped for a miracle. But Mr. Voelker never regained consciousness. "We tried everything for 10 months,'' Denise Voelker said, "But I think it was never meant to be.''

He is survived by two brothers, Mark of San Francisco and Joe of Concord; and by two sisters, Denise and Lisa, both of Novato.

The rosary will be recited at 7 p.m. Friday at St. Monica's Church, 24th Avenue and Geary Boulevard, and a funeral Mass will be said at St. Monica's Church on Saturday.

The public is asked to take a toy to the services in his memory, or to any San Francisco firehouse. There will also be a memorial lunch in his honor at John's Grill, on Ellis Street. Toys will be welcome at that event as well.

Becky Selleck
Administrative & Volunteer Coordinator
Alisa Ann Ruch Burn Foundation
Northern California Office
415-495-7223

and another charity of choice the San Francisco Fire Fighters Toy Program L-798

NitrosMike & San Francisco Fire Fighters Toy Program Local 798

DAYBREAK - Harleys and Holiday Spirit
On hand to receive the toys at Pier 45 will be Lynn Goldman of the UCSF Pediatric
HIV Program, several UCSF staff members and volunteers, and John Voelker, ...
www.ucsf.edu/daybreak/1997/12/1205_har.htm - 8k - Cached - Similar pages

UCSF News Archive: Mayor Brown's Toys For Kids Holiday Ride
*John Voelker of the SF Fire Fighters Toy Program at 415/777-0440. *Lordelyn P.
del Rosario of the UCSF News Office at 415/476-2557. ...
www.ucsf.edu/its/listserv/ucsfnews/0260.html - 6k - Cached - Similar pages

Catholic SF --- May 27, 2005
June 3: Friends of City firefighter, John Voelker, are holding a ... of SFFD’s
Christmas toy program, was seriously injured in a recent motorcycle accident. ...
www.catholic-sf.org/052705.html - 49k - Cached - Similar pages

CSF issue of March 25, 2005
Prayers please for longtime City firefighter, John Voelker, ... charitable causes
of the fire department most recently heading up its Christmas toy program… ...
www.catholic-sf.org/032505.html - 56k - Cached - Similar pages

[PDF] Member Involvement – BOMA’s Energy Source
File Format: PDF/Adobe Acrobat - View as HTML
over 20000 toys. John Voelker, firefighter and. Chairman of our beneficiary, the
San Francisco. Firefighter’s Toy Program, called this year’s ...
www.bomasf.org/pdf/bulletin/Feb.pdf - Similar pages

[PDF] The EER Survey: Just Do It!
File Format: PDF/Adobe Acrobat - View as HTML
BOMA San Francisco’s 14th Annual Toy. Program culminated with toy donations.
exceeding 1998 by over 5000 toys. John Voelker, ...
www.bomasf.org/pdf/bulletin/BOMA_feb.pdf - Similar pages

FEMA: Littlest Victims Get Toys, Care
“Many of these children have lost so much,” said John Voelker, director of the
San Francisco Firefighters Toy Program. “We’re thrilled to be able to give ...
www.fema.gov/rt/10463e8.shtm - 23k - Cached - Similar pages

[PDF] cognition 12-01.qxd
File Format: PDF/Adobe Acrobat - View as HTML
Thank you to John D.Voelker past. Chairman and Melissa Lerma the ... 798 sponsored
Toy Program,. who in 2000 alone provided. 250000+ toys to 42000+ children ...
www.ahalenia.com/sfbma/cognitions/cog25.pdf - Similar pages

Support Circle
Anyway, I know that going to that lunch for the toy program must have been ...
As always John and all of the extended Voelker family are in our thoughts and ...
supportcircle.com/dbmodel/ messages.asp?rcpID=206&password=none - 513k - Cached - Similar pages

 

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