By Beth Treffeisen
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Funeral services for firefighter Robert “Bobby” Kilduff Jr. are taking place Monday, beginning at 10 a.m. at the Cathedral of the Holy Cross in Boston.
Kilduff Jr. died while battling a three-alarm fire in Dorchester on May 23. A 24-year veteran of the Boston Fire Department, he spent his career assigned to Rescue Company 2 stationed in Roxbury.
The International Association of Fire Fighters expects thousands of firefighters, emergency medical workers, family members, friends, and public officials to attend the funeral services.
The Most Rev. Richard G. Henning, Archbishop of Boston, will preside over the funeral alongside Rev. John J. Unni, chief chaplain of the Boston Fire Department.
Mayor Michelle Wu, Boston Fire Commissioner Rodney Marshall, Boston Firefighters IAFF Local 718 President Sam Dillon, Greg Kelly, and Vic Gaybor of Rescue Company 2 will give remarks.
Kilduff’s girlfriend, Jess Spruell, and his children, Hanna Jane and Mason Kilduff, will also share words of remembrance. His children, Seren and Brynn, will also serve as gift bearers.
“He was always there,” his son Mason told Boston 25 News. “You’d call him, he’d answer. I don’t think I ever got his voicemail.”
Spruell told the news station that Kilduff loved being a dad.
“He was so strong for them,” Spurell said. “And I got to see the other side of what he had to do to be the best dad, and I’m just so proud of him. I’m going to miss my best friend.”
IAFF General President Edward Kelly will present Jane and Mason Kilduff with the Martin E. Pierce Commemorative Line-of-Duty Death medal, the IAFF’s highest honor bestowed upon families of members who “make the ultimate sacrifice in the line of duty.”
The medal is in honor of Martine E. Pierce, a Boston firefighter who served as IAFF General Secretary-Treasurer from 1980 to 1982 and spent his 37-year career assigned to Ladder 17 in Boston’s South End.
Kildruff was a third-generation Boston firefighter, following in the footsteps of his father, Robert Sr., and grandfather, Vincent, both of whom also worked at Rescue 2.
He was also a veteran of the United States Marine Corps and an active member of the International Association of Fire Fighters labor union.
Kildruff was known for volunteering with the Gary Sinise Foundation and for supporting grieving military and first-responder families across the country.
“He would always say, you know, all my job is showing up on somebody’s really bad day and hopefully making it a little bit better,” Spruell told Boston 25 News.
Beth Treffeisen is a general assignment reporter for Boston.com, focusing on local news, crime, and business in the New England region.
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