PROFILE December 2011: Robert Otis Tarkington, Engineer Ladder 18
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Robert Otis Tarkington, born October 1, 1953 in Jacksonville to Otis Jr. and
Betty Tarkington. Robert has two older brothers, Dennis and Billy. He also has
two half brothers, Neal ( deceased) and Brian.
Robert married Linda Gail in 1987. Linda Gail worked and retired from JFRD in
2008. Together they have a
combined family of 4 children and 4 grandchildren.
Robert graduated from Ribault High School in 1971. During his high school years
Robert ran JV track but then began working with his father in his contracting
business.
After graduating from Ribault Robert joined the Air National Guard from which he
retired as a Tech Sergeant in 1993. Robert was also a firefighter in the guard.
Robert was a firefighter at Jacksonville International Airport from 1976 until
1981.
Robert credits Jim Porter (retired and deceased) for his becoming a firefighter.
Robert says that Jim was his neighbor as a young man and was very encouraging.
Robert was hired on JFRD in 1981 and assigned to Station 18. Robert’s first
officer was Captain Mike George (retired) and Robert Wyse was the District
Chief. Robert has been assigned to Station 18 the majority of his career, with
the exception of going to Station 34 for 1 year and Station 48 for 2 shifts.
Robert asked to be transferred back to Sta. 18 after working 2 shifts at Sta. 48
and only going on 2 calls. He said he was bored and they didn’t have cable TV.
Robert will be retiring from Sta. 18 on January 6, 2012.
Robert has been a member of the Honor Guard for many years. When he joined
Howard Davidson was the
Commander and soon after Mike George resumed that role.
Robert has also been very active with the Retired Firefighters Luncheon since
the early days. His wife Linda Gail has been active with the luncheon since
1982.
Robert certainly knows his way around the kitchen. He has been the Chief cook
for the Firefighter’s Widow’s
Luncheon since it began 7 years ago.
Among many honors that Robert has achieved in his career are being two time
recipient of the Eddie Cowart
Firefighter of the Year Award. Robert first won the award in 1992 after talking
a man into laying down a shotgun and surrendering. Robert won the award again in
2000 after rescuing a man that was trapped in a hole.
Robert’ hobbies include motorcycling and fishing.
Robert and Linda Gail have bucket list that they intend to start working on as
soon as he retires. Included on this list is an Alaskan Cruise and a trip to
Pearl Harbor.
When asked how he planned to stay busy when he retired Robert sited a story he
apparently has told his children. He is going to do whatever he wishes for a
while. He stated that if he get bored he is going to apply for the job of
driving the train for kids in Orange Park Mall. Good Luck with that.