By Bill Schmidt
Dayton Daily News (Ohio)
Copyright 2006 Dayton Newspapers, Inc.
How did Marsha Stonecash begin her first day after retiring as Eaton’s EMS chief?
At 7 a.m. on the morning of Oct. 2, she and her husband, Bob, took an early walk. Bob Stonecash, Eaton’s mayor, retired from his “regular” job with Carquest, an auto parts business, on the same day as his wife.
The day before, Marsha was honored with an open house, celebrating her 31 years of service to Eaton. “It was very nice,” she said. “They did a beautiful job.”
But Stonecash, after 31 years of serving others, wasn’t ready for the attention. “I’m not one that likes to be fussed over,” she said.
Back in 1975, Stonecash began her work with the city as a volunteer EMT. She wasn’t paid for her time on-call, only for the “runs” she made. But with young children, it turned out to be a perfect arrangement.
She and a friend took turns with EMS runs and babysitting their children. And with a working husband who had health insurance, the early years allowed the two to share household duties. She could even make runs at night “when he was at home with the kids.”
“It was perfect. A little extra money and I wasn’t tied down to a nine to five job ,” she said.
By 1976, Stonecash began taking paramedic classes; she was certified the next year. But Eaton wasn’t quite ready. They had no paramedic squad because that required special equipment.
About 1980, just as paramedics were becoming more common, Eaton moved the squad to that next level. In the early 1980s, Stonecash became a crew captain, then assistant chief in 1989. In 1998, Stonecash moved to the top slot, as EMS chief.
Stonecash, 60, credits her patients for her greatest joy while on the job . But when she did get a patient in a sour mood - and those being taken to the hospital had plenty of reasons - she’d just continue with a smile.
She said the job has always been more than just the medical attention she could provide.
Preble County has no hospital and that has been another challenge for Stonecash. Eaton EMS normally transports to McCullough-Hyde Memorial (Oxford) or Reid (Richmond). But over the years, Stonecash found herself delivering five babies.
Marsha and Bob Stonecash have a son and a daughter, and eight grandchildren.
Bob’s an Eaton native; Marsha moved to the city while in second grade.
With her retirement, Jack Royer finds himself heading a new EMS department, which has merged with the fire department.
Marsha Shannon, with the Eaton city manager’s office, summed up Stonecash’s career this way: “It takes a very special person who can provide care and comfort under such stressful conditions for 31 years.”