Fire Captain Michael Palumbo was a hometown name before he passed away from cancer.
This weekend, visitation is scheduled for the man who helped to pass a major piece of legislation.
"He started almost 26 years ago in the city he grew up in, the city of Willowick as firefighter,” Euclid fire Lt. Bill Mastroianni said. “His parents still live there, he was a captain there."
His legacy has reached beyond where he grew up.
While he was dying, he fought for those living.
"When they know that they're in a profession that puts their own health at risk so they can protect ours, we need to do everything that we can to ensure that they have ample protection,” Ohio Senator Kenny Yuko said.
Senate Bill 27, named after Palumbo, offers workers compensation insurance for certain work-related cancers.
It was a law Palumbo spent the end of his life defending.
"Michael never said when he was diagnosed, ‘why me?’” Mastroianni said. “It was 'how can I help my brother firefighters move forward so they don't contract this occupational cancer?'"
His name, not only etched on people’s hearts.
Now, also on the land.
“We're gonna dedicate a portion of Interstate 271 in Beechwood, where he served as a captain for the fire department and we're gonna dedicate it in part to Capt. Micheal Palumbo Memorial Highway,” Yuko said.
Visitation will be held on Friday, June 2 from 1 p.m. – 4 p.m. and 5 p.m. – 8 p.m. at Monreal Funeral Home in Eastlake, Ohio.
The burial ceremony will be Saturday, June 3 at Immaculate Conception Church at 1 p.m. in Willoughby, Ohio.