Doran Kemp Jr. knew he had limited time when he was diagnosed with brain cancer in early 2023. Doctors estimated he had about 18 months left to live with heavy, intensive treatment or six months without.
The Milwaukee Fire Department firefighter-recruiter and Milwaukee Bucks super fan, sat down with his wife, LeKeisha Johnson Kemp, on the first day of his diagnosis. She told him that they needed to “rip the Band-Aid off.” She was direct, telling him he was going to die from the cancer.
But Kemp, as he showed through his fight with cancer, wouldn’t let himself give in to thinking his diagnosis was terminal.
“Every day, he would wake up and say, 'We got today, we have today, and we’re going to fight,'" LeKeisha said. "They were telling him every time he went to the doctor more bad news."
But his response was always: "I’m willing to fight."
Doran Kemp Jr., 44, died on July 8 to glioblastoma , a type of brain cancer, after surviving almost 450 days. The father of two died surrounded by family and in little pain, a relief for a type of cancer that can be painful and cause seizures and other intense symptoms, his family said.
Cancer is a leading cause of death for firefighters according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Kemp followed in the footsteps of his father, Doran Kemp Sr., who was also a firefighter. Kemp's decision was a surprise to the family. According to his father, no one in the family knew he wanted to join the department. But directly after high school, that's what he did.
“I had never, ever pushed him into being a firefighter,” Kemp Sr. said. “He said ‘Dad I saw how you could take care of our family and spend time with us … I figured this is a good job to do.’”
By the time his cancer treatments forced him to stop working, Kemp had for 25 years with the Milwaukee fire department, pivoting to a recruiter after working as a firefighter.
“There’s a ton of people on the job right now that he had such a direct hand in recruiting them and helping them through the process,” Milwaukee Fire Chief Aaron Lipski said. “He left an indelible mark on the city and the department … He just had a magnetic personality. Everybody on the job loved to see him arrive (to work).”
Lipski hailed Kemp as one of the department's top recruiters. He had a knack for bringing on a diverse group of people and said he took pride in that.
Kemp and Joshua Parish, the department’s assistant fire chief, went through the academy together. Parish said his outgoing personality was always apparent.
“(He had) the ability to meet people at different levels,” Parish said. “To be able to speak … and then get the audience engaged.”
Kemp had season tickets to the Milwaukee Bucks and could frequently be heard chirping at the opposing teams’ players with playful banter and was well-liked by those with nearby seats, one of his sisters, Deatra Kemp, said.
He wore a homemade black leather hat with antlers on it, helping him standout to some opposing team’s players. Deatra said after his diagnosis, a Miami Heat player inquired about his health.
That was a common thread, the family said. When he was in the hospital, strangers stopped them to offer support.
“It was just every time we see someone, it was, ‘How’s your brother,'" Deatra said.
It was through recruiting that Kemp met LeKeisha. He was working an outdoor event on a blistering hot day, and she recalled that he was still his positive self.
“He is so happy. I loved that about him,” she said. ‘He was out there for at least two hours in the sun smiling, just smiling."
After meeting, they stayed in touch and grew close. But it wasn’t until his diagnosis that they married in 2023.
"We were really close friends at that point,” she said. “He said, ‘If this is going to be my journey, I would rather marry you … and let you know that I love you.'"
This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: 'He left an indelible mark': Milwaukee firefighter and prolific recruiter dies of cancer
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