SPRINGFIELD, IL — Terry Nydegger, who was part of the Sangamon County Rescue Squad for nearly five decades and served as its chief, was killed in a multi-vehicle crash in Wisconsin July 20.
He was 76.
Nydegger also was the police chief of New Berlin for 30-plus years.
The crash occurred on Interstate 90/94 near Baraboo, Wisconsin, about 50 miles northwest of Madison. Nydegger used to hunt and fish in the Baraboo area.
Wisconsin State Patrol is investigating the crash.
The Rescue Squad is under the Sangamon County Office of Emergency Management.
Sangamon County Coroner Jim Allmon said Nydegger’s passing was confirmed by the Sauk County (Wisconsin) Coroner.
“It seemed like I ran into Terry everywhere I went and he was always in some official capacity helping,” Allmon told The State Journal-Register July 21. “He devoted his entire life to public service. He was a paramedic. He was a medic for the SWAT team. I watched him help the Sangamon County Rescue Squad for years. Living just outside of New Berlin, I dealt with him in his official capacity as police chief.
“I’d be hard pressed to say if I know anyone else who was as involved as he was with everything. The void he is going to leave in his community will be palpable.”
New Berlin Mayor Mike Krall said Nydegger was a fixture in the community. Krall ordered the flags at the village hall to be flown at half-staff.
“He did so much for the village of New Berlin,” Krall said in a phone interview. “He was instrumental in getting our police department to where it is today. Having a police department is very expensive and very time consuming and Terry would get surplus equipment for the village, sometimes at little to no cost. He would actually work on the squad cars themselves, put brakes on squad cars, do oil changes that would save the village so much money that he never asked anything for.
“Terry was the kind of guy that where there was a will, there was a way. He was a friend to a lot of people. He helped a lot of people in the village in regard to legal things. He had empathy for people, and he gave you the benefit of the doubt.”
Allmon said he took at least two dozen phone calls from people Monday night who were devastated by the news.
“They were sharing their stories and thoughts (about Terry) with me,” Allmon said. “I can’t tell you how many people are going to have stories about Terry and working alongside him. He’s a genuine, genuine person.”
The Rescue Squad posted on Facebook that Nydegger’s “calm presence, hands-on experience and steady leadership helped save many lives and guided those around him through difficult situations.
“His commitment to public service, his leadership, and his unwavering dedication to the community will be remembered by all who had the privilege of serving alongside him.”
At 48 years, Nydegger was the Rescue Squad’s longest-serving member.
Nydegger’s wife, Janine, a longtime emergency room nurse at Springfield Memorial Hospital, also volunteered on the Rescue Squad dive team. She died in 2022.
Contact Steven Spearie: 217-622-1788; sspearie@sj-r.com; X, twitter.com/@StevenSpearie.
This article originally appeared on State Journal-Register: Longtime Sangamon County Rescue Squad chief dies in Wisconsin crash
Reporting by Steven Spearie, Springfield State Journal-Register / State Journal-Register
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By Steven Spearie, Springfield State Journal-Register | USA TODAY Network
