A funeral with firefighter honors will be held Thursday for Rogers firefighter and emergency medical technician Justin Blickenderfer.
Blickenderfer's casket will be accompanied by fire trucks and other apparatus from St. Vincent de Paul Catholic Church, 1416 W. Poplar St. to Pinnacle Memorial Gardens, 5930 W. Wallis Road following the 11 a.m. funeral. The fire department's planned route is: Poplar Street to South Dixieland Road, West on New Hope Road, South on Pinnacle Hills Parkway, West on Pauline Whitaker Parkway, South on Champions Road to Wallis Road.
Blickenderfer, 30, took off sick on Oct. 13 and died early Oct. 14 following a short illness. “Blick” had been with the department a little more than two years and was memorialized in a flurry of social media posts in the past week from the Rogers Fire Department.
Blickenderfer used humor to calm anxiety in others, said Fire Chief Tom Jenkins. He will be remembered as a “firefighter's firefighter” for his ability to inspire confidence in others, Jenkins said.