Cisco widow donates bee suits to fire department following her husbands passing in bee attack

EASTLAND, Texas (KTAB/KRBC) – On Sunday, April 27, Cyd Daniel from Cisco lost her husband, Steve, to a bee attack while he was out mowing their property in Eastland. One month later, she is still dedicated to spreading education, enhancing safety in outdoor activities, and supporting the first responders who are on the scene during emergencies.

Daniel invited KTAB/KRBC to join her and a group of small-town residents as they visited the Eastland Fire Department (EFD) to express their gratitude to the firefighters and present a donation that has a direct, practical application.

“I think we’ve got a good group of men over there. And I think they deserve protection…If you help the Fire Department, it helps all of us,” Daniel said.

On Tuesday evening, Daniel and members of other local communities showed up at EFD with two high-quality beekeeping suits in hand. Daniel said that a man from Dallas had heard about her family’s loss through her daughter. That man was asking how he could help Daniel out.

“He said, ‘I’d like to help your mom some. Does she want, like, a donation to cancer?’ No, he didn’t have cancer, and I didn’t want a tree planted… But then I thought, well, in memory of Steve,” said Daniel.

With a donation of $500 from that man, Daniel ordered two beekeeping suits for $250 a piece. Daniel said she wanted to make sure they were high-quality suits with ventilation for the firefighters’ sake. She was also adamant that they receive at least two, so that whoever is responding to an incident would have some backup help as well.

Eastland Fire Chief Sam Williams said that if the group had only come to thank the department, that would have been enough. So, the addition of the beekeeping suits was extremely appreciated. Williams is saying that most small-town fire departments often depend on the generosity of the community to meet their needs.

“The public has no idea how much that means to myself and our volunteers when we get that pat on the back… To provide the services we provide, we depend very heavily on donations… With those suits on the rig, we can adapt to a situation and not be limited from entering a situation where we might need to assist someone,” Williams said.

Daniel hopes their donation will inspire others nationwide to connect with first responders in their communities and address their needs.

In the interest of education, Abilene Beekeeper and Hive removal specialist Crissy Ward of the Texas Beekeepers Association would like to inform the public that a Beekeeping 101 course will be available on June 21 in Abilene. In that course, you can learn about beekeeping safety and the biological traits that make up a hive. Registration for that class is available now through the Texas Beekeepers Association website.