Philadelphia Firefighter Hunky Calendar Released After His Suicide

Aug. 17, 2011— -- Jack Slivinski Jr.'s decision to pose for a hunky firefighters' calendar that would benefit widows of fallen colleagues reflected what he loved about the Philadelphia Fire Department's elite rescue unit: "We don't leave anybody behind."

The former Marine took pride in upholding the ethic that made his job so satisfying. "To be able to help the citizens of Philadelphia is super-rewarding," he said in an online video accompanying the 2012 calendar being released Thursday.

From Day 1, Slivinski was going to be featured on the cover, not only because he was strikingly handsome, with china-blue eyes, thick wavy hair, an easy smile and a buff body. "Mr. Philadelphia" also would represent the city where Benjamin Franklin started the nation's first volunteer fire department.

But his high-profile role had unanticipated consequences. He shot himself to death at home June 25, a month after his 32nd birthday. He left no suicide note.

Now, like others who lose a son or daughter to suicide, his parents, John "Jack" Slivinski Sr. and Gerry Slivinski, are struggling to find meaning in his death.

Sure, Jack Jr. had his share of troubles, including a separation from his wife, although he had hoped for reconciliation. They knew he was unhappy; he'd recently begun taking antidepressants. He might have experienced residual sadness from the death of Lt. Derrick Harvey, 45, a close friend and colleague who died after trying to rescue Slivinski and another firefighter from a burning house, unaware they'd escaped.

The Slivinskis say, however, that unanticipated censure for baring much of his buff body in the "Nation's Bravest: Firefighters Unite" calendar fueled their son's despair. Despite the rawness of their grief, the two are coming to New York for Thursday's calendar launch party at a SoHo nightclub, where they'll meet the other featured firefighters. They'll attend another calendar party in Philadelphia Sept. 7, with proceeds funding the Widows Fund of the International Association of Fire Fighters Local 22.