Sean,
Happy 34th buddy! You are still so loved and missed! Not a day goes by that you are not thought of. It has been amazing to see what an impact you had on those around you. For your year anniversary so many people celebrated you. What a tribute to such a great brother. I hope you were able to look down and see all of your buddies. I could just imagine your smile and you chillin' with a beer wondering what all the fuss was about. I hope in time things will get easier for all of us. You definitely left a big hole in all of our hearts. Here's to you!
Love,
Rachelle
Three phrases immediately turn my attention to Sean and have for over 25 years. ‘The Kohlrabi Incident’, ‘There’s a full moon out tonight’, and ‘Grandma’s 80th’. My memories of Sean go back to his childhood days. I hate to say that I knew Sean better when he was a kid and unfortunately that seems to be how it works sometimes, especially when there are 20+ cousins to keep track of. As a child is where Sean learned the values that he lived his life by and during these years is when I spent the most time with Sean. The qualities that many of his friends and co-workers have identified were evident at a young age. He was always adventurous, caring, fun-loving, spontaneous, energetic and happy. The stories that resonate with me when Sean’s name comes up date back some 25 years.
The Kohlrabi Incident
The Kohlrabi Incident is something that rarely comes up, unless someone comments about the lack of vegetables on my Thanksgiving or Christmas dinner plate – which is just about every family function I’ve attended over the last 25 years. I was a year or so older than Sean’s oldest brother Brian and seemed to spend time each summer down at the Fleming place in Ojai. This was the location of Cathy’s infamous garden. I’d never seen, nor do I ever want to see, another like it but it certainly was a testament to Cathy and her capacity to not only raise 4 kids but grow vegetables that most people have never heard of, much less ever considered eating. In honor of Cathy, I’ve included a picture of Kohlrabi. From looking at the picture it is simple to imagine that when you cut into a kohlrabi, it actually looks like a potato, and there is the rub with this dastardly ‘vegetable’.

I’ve heard many stories about that garden and despite the rampant ‘bunny/coyote/cat/mouse/deer/oxen/horse’ sitings that stomped out the most vile of veggies (picture Sean at age 6 tossing eggplants into the stream while Cathy is out picking up the girls from track or soccer practice), Cathy always was able to put 2 fresh veggies from that garden on the dinner table every night. Now cousin Timmers and veggies don’t particularly get along very well but he was not above the Fleming dinner table rules that everyone must eat 2 veggies for dinner.
When I visited and we sat down for dinner, the entire Fleming clan would eagerly anticipate my attempts to consume Cathy’s veggies. Typically I had a tough time swallowing things I’d never heard of before. I took as little as Pete & Cathy would allow, dunked them in milk, cut them up real fine, drowned them in ketchup, whatever I could do to mute the nastiness of the taste. Then came the ‘Kohlrabi Incident’. The entire Fleming clan conspired against me and tried to convince me that they were potatoes. Cathy even had a hand in it as she cut them up in small cubes trying to pass them off as potatoes. As I started eating the Kholrabi cubes things were relatively OK (the Fleming clan will tell you I was swallowing them like they were chocolate cubes), then suddenly Sean could not contain his hysterics. ‘It’s not potatoes, it’s kohlrabi!’ he exclamed with pure joy. Needless to say, once it was determined that it was a vegetable, it took a lot of ketchup and milk to finish off the ‘potatoes’. Sean always remembered the Kholrabi Incident and could tell the story at family functions better than anyone – although he was the youngest, even at that age he enjoyed a good practical joke.
There’s a full moon out tonight
One night, as Brian, Sean and I were getting ready for bed, I ask Sean if there was a full moon out tonight. He was pretty young, probably 6 or 7, and wasn’t quite sure what I was getting at so I promptly yanked down my jammies and jumped right on Sean’s face. Suddenly Sean realized that indeed there was a full moon out tonight and he was on the business end of cousin Timmer’s full moon. He finally broke loose and cleaned the tip of his nose and instantly was a great sport about the situation. Seeing how hysterical Brian and I were when he finally came up for air, he took it surprisingly well. While he might have tattled to Pete and Cathy, I don’t think they bought it so he played along like the great sport that he was. Over the past 25 years, the full moon has been a running family joke and Sean vowed one day that payback was coming. I always believed that he was conspiring for the perfect payback and have always been eagerly awaiting what he would come up with for me to pay that debt.
Shots at Grandma’s 80th
The extended Fleming family can be quite intimidating, especially the first few times a new significant other is introduced to the family. Sean always made the effort to make everyone feel part of the family and comfortable in the intimidating environment. Sean took it upon himself to formally initiate my girlfriend at the time, Christina, to the family at Grandma’s 80th birthday party at Bob & Pat’s. It was getting late and Christina had known Eric from their high-school days and as the party for Grandma was winding down, the party in Sean’s mind was just starting.
While I was upstairs watching the end of a Notre Dame football game, I noticed Christina wasn’t around. Part of the initiation rule was to leave the significant other alone for a while to see how she adapted to the sheer force that is the Fleming family. I saw her earlier talking to Eric and the other cousins so I figured she was in good hands. While she may have been in good hands, she had no idea what she was getting herself into. Finally, after an hour or so, I went down to find her and Sean, Eric, and Greg at the makeshift bar in the garage by the ping pong table. Sean and the other cousins made sure to make Christina feel comfortable to the point that shortly thereafter, she spent almost a half hour in the bathroom wondering how she was going to say happy birthday to grandma without falling down or yacking on her. She’s always been very thankful to Sean for making her feel comfortable and didn’t want to let Sean down by turning down his shots.

These two pictures I found in my archives are how I best remember Sean – as a younger cousin I’ll always remember him as a kid. Always with a smile on his face and hanging out with his cousins doing what he enjoyed and when he was done, finding a place to crash, even if it is under the foosball table after a rough day of snowboarding at Bob & Pat’s place in Mammoth.
As I listened to people speak about Sean at his service and read the posts on the website, I am saddened to realize that I didn’t know Sean as well as I should have. While it’s tough to know all 20+ cousins as well as you should Sean really made it easy to get to know him as he was extremely outgoing and personable. I am reminded of Sean often and I’m certain that will continue. It’s hard to believe that he is no longer with us but there are daily reminders of his life and what he meant to the extended family. He lives on when there is a full moon out, when family holiday discussion centers around the cousins shenanigans, and especially when we pull over for that fire truck to go by or I hear the sirens from my office going to the hospital across the street. He is missed and will certainly continue to always be missed. I remind my young boys of the great example Uncle Sean set while putting others in front of himself time and again without a second thought.
Cousin Timmers

Sean had many natural gifts that most would wish they had themselves. He was extremely intelligent, talented, and had a magnetic personality. He also had many qualities that most people would want their own child to have: He contributed to the greater good of society. He was loyal and devoted to the people he loved. He lent his hand when help was needed. He lived an honest life.
One of the qualities that I admired about Sean was his humility. He knew that he was talented, intelligent, accomplished, and charming, but he never boasted. He acted like his accomplishments were no big deal. He led on that his skills were normal, but they weren’t.
One of the memories that that will always vividly replay in my mind (that I can’t possibly sufficiently describe how amazing it was, but will try anyways) is one morning when we were at the beach on a big day of surf. It was one of those days that you could spend an hour trying to get out past the whitewater into the lineup, and never make it out. One of those days where, despite how big and perfect the waves were, only a few guys could actually catch one. One of those days that you had to wait for a set to end, then paddle out and hope that you can make it out before the next set comes. While I lagged getting my suit on and gear together, Sean just jumped on his board and started paddling. I sat there with another of our buddies and just watched as he somehow managed to make it out to the peak hardly getting his hair wet. As soon as he made it out, a set came, and Sean was in the perfect spot. He took off backside, and our other buddy and I just started cheering him on. It was an amazing wave. It was so big, I don’t think he ever made it to the bottom. It just kept peeling off and he rode it like the mellow soul he was. When I finally made it out to the lineup and joined him, I tried to tell him how incredible that wave was. To him, it was “no big deal,” just another wave. Maybe he didn’t know how amazing it looked from the beach, maybe he didn’t realize how big and perfect it actually was. Nonetheless, I know that if someone told me how great a wave was that I caught, I would have loved hearing all about it. Sean on the other hand, didn’t care to hear about it. He was a humble dude despite his gifts.
To me, this story exemplifies Sean. It was the most graceful thing I ever saw him do. I never got to see him use the jaws of life to tear apart a car and get somebody out. I never saw him climb through a window of a burning building and pull a little old lady out safely. I never saw him administer CPR. But I did witness several "Sean moments" where he would snap into his intense mood when it was time to get something done. Moments when us normal people would just say, wow, that was amazing how he did that. He was a gifted person. I had a ton of respect for him. It's a shame that he departed this world too soon.
Losing a friend is hard. Losing a family member in the youth of his life must be harder. Over the past several weeks, I’ve been reminded by people close to me to look at the bright side, to take something positive out of this. As hard as that is, I can honestly say that even in his death, Sean has brought people together. He was a centerpiece node in our network of friends. Because of this unfortunate situation, friends have reconnected with one another. People that haven’t talked in years are talking, telling each other stories, re-living the good times, laughing, crying, laughing some more. One thing that I know for sure is that Sean would have wanted us to all have a laugh together. That's what he was all about.
Rob Donahue
One of the qualities that I admired about Sean was his humility. He knew that he was talented, intelligent, accomplished, and charming, but he never boasted. He acted like his accomplishments were no big deal. He led on that his skills were normal, but they weren’t.
One of the memories that that will always vividly replay in my mind (that I can’t possibly sufficiently describe how amazing it was, but will try anyways) is one morning when we were at the beach on a big day of surf. It was one of those days that you could spend an hour trying to get out past the whitewater into the lineup, and never make it out. One of those days where, despite how big and perfect the waves were, only a few guys could actually catch one. One of those days that you had to wait for a set to end, then paddle out and hope that you can make it out before the next set comes. While I lagged getting my suit on and gear together, Sean just jumped on his board and started paddling. I sat there with another of our buddies and just watched as he somehow managed to make it out to the peak hardly getting his hair wet. As soon as he made it out, a set came, and Sean was in the perfect spot. He took off backside, and our other buddy and I just started cheering him on. It was an amazing wave. It was so big, I don’t think he ever made it to the bottom. It just kept peeling off and he rode it like the mellow soul he was. When I finally made it out to the lineup and joined him, I tried to tell him how incredible that wave was. To him, it was “no big deal,” just another wave. Maybe he didn’t know how amazing it looked from the beach, maybe he didn’t realize how big and perfect it actually was. Nonetheless, I know that if someone told me how great a wave was that I caught, I would have loved hearing all about it. Sean on the other hand, didn’t care to hear about it. He was a humble dude despite his gifts.
To me, this story exemplifies Sean. It was the most graceful thing I ever saw him do. I never got to see him use the jaws of life to tear apart a car and get somebody out. I never saw him climb through a window of a burning building and pull a little old lady out safely. I never saw him administer CPR. But I did witness several "Sean moments" where he would snap into his intense mood when it was time to get something done. Moments when us normal people would just say, wow, that was amazing how he did that. He was a gifted person. I had a ton of respect for him. It's a shame that he departed this world too soon.
Losing a friend is hard. Losing a family member in the youth of his life must be harder. Over the past several weeks, I’ve been reminded by people close to me to look at the bright side, to take something positive out of this. As hard as that is, I can honestly say that even in his death, Sean has brought people together. He was a centerpiece node in our network of friends. Because of this unfortunate situation, friends have reconnected with one another. People that haven’t talked in years are talking, telling each other stories, re-living the good times, laughing, crying, laughing some more. One thing that I know for sure is that Sean would have wanted us to all have a laugh together. That's what he was all about.
Rob Donahue
I only recently learned of this very sad news. I went to high school with Sean and last saw him about 9 years ago before I moved out of state. Sean had the most amazing energy and was always kind to me. His smile was always radiant and his positive attitude infectious. I am fortunate to have known him. Blessings to the Fleming family.
Cristen Manthe (Hubbell)
Cristen Manthe (Hubbell)
Vandenberg Firefighter Sean Fleming
The last two weeks in June have been the most difficult in the history of the Vandenberg Professional Firefighters. From a week long search for our missing brother and then a memorial service in his honor, taxed our brother and sister firefighters, their families, and the communities we live in and protect.
As firefighting Brothers and Sisters, your efforts to assist us were inspiring. These moments, although too often, demonstrates what we love about this profession. The power of our Local Unions, our camaraderie as a firefighting family, and our friendship was again tested. We stayed strong, and did the right thing. Pictures of Sean and the service can be viewed at www.vpf116.org.
The Vandenberg Professional Firefighters Local F-116 want to graciously thank those that have donated cash, food items, personnel and equipment during the search or services, and any other efforts that were made on behalf of our friend. We will always miss Sean. Thank you again for your prayers, support, and effort.
John Crotty
President, Local F-116
The last two weeks in June have been the most difficult in the history of the Vandenberg Professional Firefighters. From a week long search for our missing brother and then a memorial service in his honor, taxed our brother and sister firefighters, their families, and the communities we live in and protect.
As firefighting Brothers and Sisters, your efforts to assist us were inspiring. These moments, although too often, demonstrates what we love about this profession. The power of our Local Unions, our camaraderie as a firefighting family, and our friendship was again tested. We stayed strong, and did the right thing. Pictures of Sean and the service can be viewed at www.vpf116.org.
The Vandenberg Professional Firefighters Local F-116 want to graciously thank those that have donated cash, food items, personnel and equipment during the search or services, and any other efforts that were made on behalf of our friend. We will always miss Sean. Thank you again for your prayers, support, and effort.
John Crotty
President, Local F-116
Sean Fleming Eulogy
Water, it surrounds us. It’s a vast part of our world and so powerful. For us, it is a fuel we need to nourish and hydrate. As Firefighters, it is our agent of choice to cool the burning fires.
For Sean, the surfer, the fisherman, water provided fun, excitement, calmness, his sanctuary. It is more than fitting we choose this medium to pay honor and respect. To say farewell for now.
Though you are missing from our lives on earth, we know you are in heaven looking down and protecting us.
Sean, as our Firefighter, Union Brother, and Friend:
WE WILL NEVER FORGET
John Crotty
Water, it surrounds us. It’s a vast part of our world and so powerful. For us, it is a fuel we need to nourish and hydrate. As Firefighters, it is our agent of choice to cool the burning fires.
For Sean, the surfer, the fisherman, water provided fun, excitement, calmness, his sanctuary. It is more than fitting we choose this medium to pay honor and respect. To say farewell for now.
Though you are missing from our lives on earth, we know you are in heaven looking down and protecting us.
Sean, as our Firefighter, Union Brother, and Friend:
WE WILL NEVER FORGET
John Crotty
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