‘A guardian angel’

His coworkers say he was a man’s man — a cross between John Wayne and Tom Selleck. He never lived by any fashion but his own, which included a wolverine-haired brush and an old-fashioned razor and lather.

For 31 years, Kevin Patrick Pryor modeled his life after a famous quote from Theodore Roosevelt: “Do what you can, with what you have, where you are.”

Up to the end, those closest to Pryor said he did just that. He finished a triathlon and climbed Mount Whitney for a second time this year. He made people laugh with his impressions and left people in awe of his work ethic.

To put it simply, “If you were working with Kevin, you knew it was going to be a good day,” said Jeff Boyles, president of the Newport Beach Firefighters Assn.

On Tuesday, hundreds of firefighters from around the state and Pryor’s friends and family gathered at St. Maximilian Kolbe Catholic Church in Westlake Village to honor the Newport Beach fireman, who died suddenly last week from a non-traumatic brain hemorrhage. He was 31.

“He was a beloved son, brother, nephew, friend,” Pryor’s brother, Eric, said Tuesday. “He was a scrappy Irish lad, Fighting Irish fan, a guardian angel. A hero. My hero.”

Fire officials said that in the last week many of them have grown close to Pryor’s parents, Mark and Margaret, as well as Eric.

Pryor’s friend Charlie Dall, an engineer with the fire department, said the last week has been like uniting two of Pryor’s families.

While Pryor’s family speaks of his strong Roman Catholic faith, and his coworkers speak of his professionalism, neither could stop talking about his style — a man more fit for the 18th or 19th century — and his sense of humor.

“He was an old man from the moment he was born. No loud noises, no strong smells, no bright lights and no aggressive personalities,” said a smiling Ryan Martel, who worked with Pryor at the Riverside County Fire Department.

“He was one of the most sincere individuals I’ve ever met in my life. He’d give his shirt off his back for you.”

Newport Beach paramedic Dan Chapman remembered one morning, at about 3 a.m., when Pryor’s station — Station 2 near City Hall — was dispatched to a sheared fire hydrant.

While the station’s engineer sleepily got on his uniform and made his way to the truck, Pryor was already in full gear and loading up the tools. Chapman saw a battalion chief take the engineer by the shoulder and point to Pryor and say, “That’s a real fireman.”

That energy often transferred to other, more entertaining things like celebrity impressions or mimicry of those around him, Pryor’s friends said.

“His Chris Walken was second to none. You’d think the guy was in the room,” Dall said.

Pryor’s family said they found comfort in his premature death saving others’ lives. Seven of his organs were donated, officials said.

Among those recipients, according to his brother, were two babies who received portions of his liver, a diabetic man who received his pancreas and a 37-year-old man who now carries his heart.

But Pryor’s impact doesn’t end there, his brother said.

Referring to his daughters, Eric Pryor said, “My girls are going to have the very best guardian angel in heaven.”

Pryor was laid to rest at Pierce Brothers Valley Oaks-Griffin Memorial Park.

“He simply played the role God gave him. He did it well, too. We shouldn’t be surprised he got all of God’s work done in 31 years.”

Eric Pryor

Kevin Pryor’s brother

“They saw the way Kevin lived his life, and maybe they can take notice. That maybe, ‘Hey, I should do a few things Kevin did.’”

Dave Mais

deputy fire chief

“He was clever, witty. The best example of a kind person I could give anybody.”

Ryan Martel

Riverside County firefighter

“Kevin was definitely an original. He didn’t care about what people thought about his quirky behavior.”

Steve Lewis

Fire department chief

“He was definitely an upstanding individual.”

Jeff Boyles

president of the Newport Beach Firefighters Assn.

JOSEPH SERNA may be reached at (714) 966-4619 or at [email protected].