‘Daddy D’ hangs up hat after 35 years
Published 12:00 am Wednesday, December 23, 2009
It was a good run for “Daddy D.”
That’s the nickname his Vicksburg Fire Department co-workers gave Donell Wince, the now retired battalion chief for the Vicksburg Fire Department. After 35 years, Wince decided that on Dec. 15 it was time to retire from a career he said he really enjoyed.
“I loved my job” Wince said. “It felt good to watch relief on people’s faces for so many years. Serve and protect, that’s the nature of the beast.”
Wince was born on October 27, 1951, in Vicksburg. After graduating from Rosa A. Temple High School, he started working with the fire department when he was 22. His experiences include everything from the “indescribable” night over 25 years ago at the Champion Oil Company when an oil tank on the harbor industrial park caught fire to his last call to extinguish flames at Dickerson Tire Service on Nov. 29.
“I’ve been to nearly every large fire since I started on the job,” he said.
Wince moved steadily up the ranks. In 1982, he became a lieutenant, from 1983 to 1985, he was the training officer, and from 1985 until his retirement, he was a battalion chief, usually the person in charge at the scene of an emergency, large or small.
“I feel that the younger guys I worked with are like my children,” Wince said. “That’s how I got my nickname.”
Fire Chief Charles Atkins Jr. said Wince was a go-to guy among all 120 fire, rescue, ambulance and administrative personnel in the Vicksburg department. “He was the shift commander, the person to come to if anything went wrong,” Atkins said.
For Wince, those co-workers are still like his family, and for those co-workers, he is still “Daddy D.” The only difference is now he is playing that role while retired rather than while putting out fires.
A part of that retirement is the new-found luxury of being able to sleep in until 6:30 a.m., which he says feels is late compared to his previous 4:30 a.m. rise. He is also enjoying his extra time with his four children, watching crime shows and his particular hobby — digging.
“Many people wouldn’t believe it, but I love to take a shovel and dig dirt. It relaxes me,” he said.
He also confesses that he has a “bucket list,” projects to be completed in retirement. “I try to spend two hours a day on it,” he said. Whether it is doing house chores or planning a vacation to China with his wife, Rosie, the list includes a variety of things to keep himself busy. “I don’t want to go cold turkey.”
Fire station camaraderie will be missed, he said. “It is a people person job, a job that gave me personal gratification.” And he’s happy with his record. “I did my job to the best of my ability,” Wince said. “I have no regrets.”
Atkins said there is a list of candidates to fill the battalion chief position, but the decision will not be announced until January.
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Contact Everett Bexley at ebexley@vicksburgpost.com