Stallings honored for service to county as volunteer with fire department, rescue squad

By Eddie West

Staff Writer

Funeral services were held Friday afternoon for longtime firefighter and rescue squad member Nicky Stallings.

The Carthage resident was a volunteer firefighter and rescue squad member for more than 40 years.

Stallings, 62, was also a Carthage city employee and was employed with Sanderson Funeral Home and Smith County Monument Company for 30 years.

As a rescue squad member and firefighter, Stallings spent countless hours battling local fires, as well as working at accident scenes and other rescue operations.

Stallings was the son of the late Carthage Fire Chief  Ed Stallings for which the Carthage Fire Department building is named. 

Both Stallings and his father were injured in the fire which destroyed Christ Church which stood on Main Street in downtown Carthage.

The fire occurred on April 8, 2004, and the elder Stallings would not overcome his injuries.

Numerous firemen and emergency personnel were in attendance at Stallings’ funeral.

The funeral procession included numerous fire and rescue vehicles honoring Stallings.

The casket carrying Stallings was aboard one of the fire engines as the funeral procession traveled down Main Street to Upper Ferry Road, turning onto Spring Street and passing by the Carthage Fire Department building.

From Spring Street, the procession continued to College Avenue before coming to a final stop at Smith County Memorial Gardens where Stallings was laid to rest.

Stallings was a 1978 graduate of Smith County High School.

(See Bass Funeral Home obituaries for additional information.)