San Francisco Black Firefighters Association
Committed to the Equal Treatment of Minority Firefighters

IN
Memorium
Firefighter Jalal Aineb
September 28, 1962 – March 8, 2017
Duty-Related Death

Inspector Leonard J. Roberts, Jr.
June 2, 1940 – August 12, 2011

Lieutenant Michael Andre Cotton (ret.)
May 15 1948 – February 27 2007

Battalion Chief Rod Bennett (ret.)
February 9, 1947 – December 15, 2001

Lieutenant Jerry Eugene Butler
July 2, 1954 – August 17, 1993
Line of Duty Death

Firefighter Denise Ardith Elarms
January 14, 1959 – April 14, 2016
Duty-Related Death

Captain James A. Dunson (ret.)
January 1 1946 – May 23 2009

FF/P Da’Rand Ashanti Shariah, J.D.
January 1 1946 – May 23 2009

Firefighter Deborah Anne Hall
June 4 1955 – July 4 1998

A MOTHER'S LOSS
Hartle Mae Bennett, Mother to Battalion Chief Rod BennettSeptember 27, 2002
A mother’s loss is a heavy burden to bear
You bring a child into this world
And suddenly your child is not there
The harshness of reality can be so complicated
To hold in your arms someone you created
Why should I live to see my child die?
The natural way of things
Would be for my child to watch me lie
Sleeping in the eternal bliss
The family tree will sprout new limbs from my seed
Knowing that I shall live through their heart and minds
And never be missed
A mother love is what every child needs
Now I stand over you my sweet child
Looking at your face as if it was the first
And knowing it to be the last
I reach for your hand…
It is cold to my touch
How much of this can I stand?
I love you so much
Yes, a mother’s loss is a heavy burden to bear
From this dream she must awaken
She must find the strength
To move forward for her child’s siblings
Yes, a mother dies a little when her child is taken
To the Bennett Family, Thank You for your Son, Husband, Father, Uncle, and Friend.
Kevin Smith
