The Whately Fire Department held a service for Fire Lt. Christopher A. Sibley, 39, who died unexpectedly at Athol Memorial Hospital on Sept. 25, at the Scott family farm on Sunday.
The Whately Fire Department held a service for Fire Lt. Christopher A. Sibley, 39, who died unexpectedly at Athol Memorial Hospital on Sept. 25, at the Scott family farm on Sunday. Credit: Whately Fire Department

WHATELY — The town is mourning the loss of two proud public servants who died one day apart.

Fire Lt. Christopher A. Sibley, 39, died unexpectedly at Athol Memorial Hospital on Sept. 25 and he was followed by former Police Chief Harold R. Swift Jr., 82, on Sept. 26 in Northampton. Sibley also worked for Sunderland as a laborer/operator at the time of his death.

A service for Sibley was held at the Scott family farm Sunday. In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to the Sibley Children Education Fund by making checks payable to Randy Sibley and mailing them to P.O. Box 179, Whately, MA 01093. Other donations can be made to the Whately Firefighters Association c/o Wayne Hutkoski, 149 Christian Lane, South Deerfield, MA 01373.

Calling hours for Swift, Whately’s first police chief, were scheduled for Tuesday from 9 to 11 a.m. at the Wrisley Funeral Home in South Deerfield, followed by a funeral service with Jack Cooper officiating. Burial will follow in Whately Center Cemetery. In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to the Whately Police Association Scholarship Fund or the Whately Fire Department.

Whately Fire Chief John Hannum said Sibley’s death is a tough loss for the department. He said about 15 of Sibley’s fellow firefighters attended Sunday’s service. Six firefighters folded an American flag because he was a six-year veteran of the U.S. National Guard, and handed it to his twin daughters. Hannum said he presented Sibley’s mother with her son’s firefighter helmet.

According to his obituary, Sibley was born on Oct. 13, 1979, in Darnell Army Hospital, Fort Hood, Texas, the son of Randy and Lynn (Scott) Sibley. He graduated from Frontier Regional School in 1997.

Swift was born in Northampton to Harold and Josephine (Banasiak) Swift on Feb. 6, 1937. According to his obituary, he graduated from Deerfield High School in 1955 and from Stockbridge School of Agriculture in 1957. He worked for Consolidated Cigar Co. for years and was regarded as a local expect in tobacco. He was also chairman of the Whately Finance Committee for several years.