Crafton Hills College announces new Fire Academy scholarship in memory of longtime program supporter, mentor

Publish Date: Sept. 1, 2024

Ed Kimbrough found joy in training the next generation of first responders.

When he was dying of cancer in the 2010s, cadets from Crafton Hills College’s Fire Academy would get together at Kimbrough’s home to sit and swap stories, times that meant the world to him, shared his widow, Pauline. 

Kimbrough’s lasting impact on Academy cadets inspired a new scholarship endowment named after the longtime firefighter to support CHC fire science cadets needing a financial hand. 

The Chief Ed Kimbrough Memorial Scholarship Fund will award an annual scholarship to a cadet who embodies his whatever-it-takesattitude, all thanks to a campaign led by longtime friend and retired Crafton Fire Chief Dan Sullivan and Pauline Kimbrough.

“Some of the situations these kids deal with are really, really challenging. So, any help they can get to … accomplish their goals is all we want for our young people – our kids, your kids,” said Pauline. “When they are inspired to complete a lofty goal like [joining] the fire service, we want to help make that happen while [spreading awareness of] Ed’s legacy because he was so excited about the program.”

Ed Kimbrough was born Oct. 5, 1939, in Queens, New York, and moved to Southern California where he graduated from Junipero Serra High School in Gardena. After high school, Kimbrough enlisted in the U.S. Army and served for three years with the 101st Airborne Division. 

After the service, he married his high school sweetheart, Pauline, and together they raised three children. Throughout their 56-year love affair, both Ed and Pauline supported one another’s career aspirations. Ed would work as a meat cutter and a truck driver before finding a new passion: protecting others. After completing his degree in fire science from Harbor College, Kimbrough began working for the Palos Verdes Estates Fire Department from 1973 to 1978, and between 1978 and 1980 as a fire captain/paramedic with the Gardena Fire Department.

In 1980, The Kimbroughs moved to Big Bear Lake, where Ed would finish out his career with the Big Bear Lake Protection District as its Fire Chief until retiring in 1988.

Pauline Kimbrough recalled her husband’s passion for working with local youth, often lending a hand to coach Pop Warner Football or supporting other programs for kids. When their son enrolled at Crafton Hills College, Ed also became involved with the College, serving on the advisory board of the College’s first fire academy,. College officials remembered Kimbrough as a “priceless resource to both cadets and the faculty in every way.”

Kimbrough lost his battle with cancer on Nov. 16, 2017, but his memory will live on through the newly endowed scholarship. “When a new [academy] class would come in, Ed would give them a pep talk and a very inspirational presentation,” Pauline Kimbrough said. “He loved it, and the kids loved it. This was a very personal thing for him, and so this [scholarship] is very, very special to us.”

To contribute to The Chief Ed Kimbrough Memorial Scholarship Fund, go craftonhills.edu/kimbrough or send a check payable to The Crafton Hills College Foundation, 11711 Sand Canyon Road, Yucaipa.