Roane County Sheriff's Office, Tennessee
End of Watch Thursday, May 11, 2006
Reflections for Deputy Sheriff William Birl Jones
Bill was a great uncle.I love him and I would do any thing to have him back.He meant the world to me.I love him more than any thing.I hope the 2 jerks that killed him die.
jamie luffman
niece
June 22, 2006
As one of your former dispatchers I just wanted to tell you I think of you and your family everyday.
Our hearts have been shattered for we have lost a great friend, officer and hero. We have our memories of you Sgt Jones and I feel certain everyone has a Sgt Jones story. With those stories and our thoughts you will always be within our hearts.
You always kept us in laughter we never knew what you were going to say. Then again you really didn’t care what you were going to say especially on that radio. I didn’t really get to work with you that much I was usually on a different shift. But when I did I knew to look out! Of course that was way back in the “good days” when we all stayed in trouble! We had a blast though!
We aren’t suppose to question why things happen. Well I’m human. I’ve questioned it a million times. I suppose just like everyone else has.
Watch over the guys Sgt Jones. Speak to their hearts when they are in danger and tell them what they need to do to keep them safe. Let 730 be forever their Guardian Angel!
You will always be Sgt Jones!
We miss ya big guy!
You left us all in tears and broken hearts.
Bubba
Former Dispatcher
June 20, 2006
Bill,
I will tell my son Yuri, all about you. You would have liked him. He is very tough and would have enjoyed your pranks. I miss you terribly more so now that you have gone to your Father. He loved you and needed you so he took you away. Sweet slumber my friend. One day we will meet in Paradise.
Love for a lifetime and beyond.
Marc-Antony Coar
Savannah, GA>
Marc-Antony Coar
My next father
June 19, 2006
Hi Billy,
I mostly used to look at you from a distance when I see you playing with my brothers, Miguel and Marc-Antony. Of course I wasn't spared because sooner than later I would be the recipient of some 'Indian rubs'. I loved you as a child loved a father and it tore my heart to hear of your untimely death. I still have a family - your family and I will let you know how they are doing from time to time.
May you rest in peace. You left a legacy in your lifetime. Many men cannot say that for themselves. My famiy speak of you often even in the wee hours of the morning. I have to tell them that you are OK now.
Love always, Michelle and Norma
Savannah, GA
michelle Moreira
Daughter of your friend
June 19, 2006
Bill, the day that Susan called and and asked me if I was ok, I immediately knew that something had happened. I was not prepared for the tragedy that you were not only shot, but that you had left us. I felt as if she was speaking to someone else because I had suddenly gotten numb. Immediately I felt the ache that I had felt just 1-1/2 years ago when I lost my dear father. You were the one who spoke words of comfort to me telling me how you felt when you lost Dad Jones. They say that time heals but how long is time? Is it a day, a year or eternity? I think that it never heals but each one of us has to deal with it in a different way. When I think that it is getting better and I see a Sheriff car or hear an ambulance, it starts over and I am angry again. Anger is all that I feels these days. I will be OK because I know you would want me to accept the things that I cannot change, and this I cannot change, although I wish I could. This is my wish for you:-
Billy, May the angels lead you in paradise,
May the martyrs come to welcome you and lead to the Holy City - The new and eternal Jerusaleum
May the choir of angels welcome you and lead you to the Bosom of Abraham and where Lazarus is poor no longer.
May you find eternal rest.
Sweet Slumber, my lifelong friend, I will remember you always.
Norma Ramdeen
Savannah, Georgia
Norma Ramdeen
Lifelong friend
June 19, 2006
Bill,
I remembered the day as if it was yesterday, almost 30 years ago at a family day at Ft. Stewart, Ga. when I heard a deep voice addressing my then husband, Tony and myself,
"Does he belong to You?" I looked up into the sunlight and saw a tall, handsome GI, about 24 years old. He was holding the hand of my youngest son, 7 year old Marc-Antony. You both had befriended each other and were out of breath, having romped in the grass, giving each other bear hugs and 'indian rubs'. From that day onwards you became a part of our family.
This was after you had served with the Marines in Viet Nam, Left the Airborne Rangers, having an accident while parachuting during an exhibition. A young paratrooper had drifted onto your 'chute' causing yours to malfunction. You broke your leg in a couple of places. Billy, I also remembered when the MP escorted you to our quarters, asking if you were a relative, invited to dinner. I told the MP that we were related and laughed for days afterwards - seeing the confusion on the MP's face - you a Causican man and we - cinammon colored Caribbean people. To avoid this further, we had you moved in with our family.
The romps with my son, Miguel and Marc-Antony and jokes with my daughter, Michelle left lasting memories of your love for them.There are too many fond memories and incidents to mention here. One that stands out, is the time that you called us to get you from Ft. Bragg's Hospital, N.C. where you hurt your hand with a grenade in a field exercise. We were frantic because we did not know the extent of your injuries. Another, is the day you tried to teach me to shoot a 30/30 rifle. Although I had on ear plugs, the noise was so loud and 'kick' so powerful that I screamed. Tony had assigned you this job, he said that you had more patience than him. You said that I was hopeless with a rifle. I never touched a gun again, THANKS!!!!. Bill, all good things come to an end . You got stationed to Panama and we to Italy and then to Germany. Remember you said that you hated goodbyes, and we found you sneaking away trying to miss our farewell dinner. I remembered how we hugged each other and cried together. I laughed hysterically then and years later to see two grown men crying - one an Airborne Ranger and the other was 82nd Airborne Paratrooper. You both thought that you were so MACHO!!. ( Of course, it was ok for me to cry, I was only a woman, ha ha).No sooner that you reached Crossville that night, you called and invited my family to meet yours and to spend Thanksgiving (1976). Yours was a great family and we had a wonderful time, especially with Dad. May God rest his soul. We lost touch but found you again in 1988. We received photographs of you playing with Jeremy and Meghan. Bill, for some reason we lost you again and searched for years. As luck would have it we found you one (1) year ago and spent many happy hours on the phone reminising of the past. It was wonderful to hear your laughter, especially when we knew that you were blushing. Yes-red cheeks! We were to meet this summer for a reunion, but tragedy struck. We lost you forever this time to your Heavenly Father. I really thought that there was no rush and that we had TIME.
Bill, life owed you nothing. You embraced it and lived it to the fullest. You can honestly say that "I DID IT MY WAY!!" You were a true son of the soil - BILL JONES #730. Men like you do not come in numbers, they come SINGLY. When you left us so suddenly you took a part of us- the part that we allow ourselves to love you completely and unconditionally. God took you way too early and left us to marvel on the goodness and love of one who touched our hearts so gently. Marc-Antony said that it was great knowing you as a child, he wanted you to know him as a man, 37 years old. Billy, you said that you hated goodbyes, and you kept your word. We said our final goodbyes to you in a closed casket. May you rest eternally in peace. You have done your share, your shift is over. You lived as a hero and died as one. I guess you would not have wanted it any other way. It is a great comfort to us knowing that you are flying with the angels and smiling down at all of us you left behind. Sweeet slumber Billy. We will love you forever and cherish our memories. We have lots of happy ones.
Norma (my children - Michelle,Miguel and Marc-Antony)
Savannah, GA.
Norma Ramdeen
Lifelong Friend
June 19, 2006
Billy,
I love you with all my heart and the rememberance of the days when I was 7 years old and the romps we had together is a memory that I will cherish forever. I will tell my 3 children of you. It was almost over 30 years that I had last seen you, but it seems like yesterday. May you rest in peace, your shift is over #730
Love you
Marc-Antony Coar
Savannah, Georgia
Marc-Antony Coar
Bill was like my father
June 19, 2006
Billy, my heart aches knowing that I will never see you again. The last time was in 1978 when you and my father were stationed at Ft. Stewart, Ga. We were all a family then. Never did I ever imagine that someone would think of ambushing you, except if you were playing indians and cowboys with my brothers,Miguel and Marc-Antony. I guess if I had told you that the heart of some men were evil, you would never believe me because you always saw the good side of people. That was your nature - kind, compassionate and love for your fellow men. You chose your profession knowing the dangers that lurk in the darkness, but your heart was set on protecting our citizens and serving the laws of this land. Tennessee has lost an officer, one that could never be replaced. May your weary soul rest in peace and may God look over your family whom you loved with every fiber of your being - Mom Jones, Sister Susan, Rose, Lynn and brother Ray. I will say a prayer for them every day.
Michelle
Savannah, Georgia
michelle moreira
friend of my father
June 19, 2006
To the Family and Co- workers of Deputy Jones,
My thoughts and prayers are with you as you face the days ahead without your loved one here on earth. Our Department lost a Brother and Dear Friend 2 years ago and there is never a day goes by without me thinking of him. I can never read his reflection page without shedding a tear. All of us Brothers and Sisters in Blue can rest assured we have some wonderful Officers watching over us from above as we go about our daily duties. Deputy Jones will always be remebered and always be a Hero.
Cpl. Teresa Smith
Loudon County, TN. Sheriff Dept.
June 19, 2006
Happy Fathers Day Papaw! I love you and miss you!
Aiden
Aiden Jones
Grandson
June 18, 2006
Happy Fathers Day Dad! We wish that you were here to celebrate it with us. You will be in our hearts today and everyday.
Michelle and Jeremy
Michelle and Jeremy Jones
Daughter-in-law and son
June 18, 2006
HAPPY FATHER'S DAY HERO. MAY PEACE BE WITH YOUR FAMILY. WE WILL KEEP YOU IN OUR HEARTS AND PRAYERS. FOREVERMORE.
DISPATCHER
June 18, 2006
Jonesy…where do I begin. Since your death, I have tried to do everything that I think that you would have wanted me to do. I tried to be the peacemaker between two families. I have tried to comfort, support, and protect our family that you are no longer able to do. I have changed my lifestyle. I, now, call my mother everyday to check in to make sure that she is ok; whereas, I did not do that before over the last two years because I knew that you would be there to comfort, support, and most of all protect her. I pray each night for her health and safety. As for my brother, he was most definitely the closest person to you of the face of the earth and the most devastated. I sometimes think that he has lost it. A plan for the Navy or College in the fall seen like fading yesterday’s for him. For the first time in my life, I am without the words to speak to my brother about you. I pray each night for these words to comfort my brother. As for me, I find myself running away from reality sometime through my work. I feel guilty because my grieving has turned into anger. When I come home, I feel a little unsafe just from knowing that you cannot be there if something happens. I also feel guilty because I have been more numb to your death than our family because I have been away at college over the last 3 years and have neglected to come home often enough. I have two reoccurring nightmares about the Houstons and you. I pray for my peace of mind each night. Finally, the thing that I regret the most…I know that sometimes we didn’t always see things eye to eye, but we had reconciled our differences over the last five years or so. It is the last time I saw you…I was planning stopping by the house for like 15 minutes, but ending up staying like 3 hours sitting outside with our family. We were playing with the same .357 gun that you would use a week and half later. As I left, I kissed my mother and said, “I love you.” I only tapped you on the shoulder and then you grab me into your bear hug that only took one arm. You said, “Come back soon.” And I said, “See me.” Your finally words to me, “See you.” So today on Father’s Day on this page and at your tombstone later, I am going to correct my mistakes. “Jonesy…even though you did not see it, I have watched you as I grew up into the man I am…and I have learned from you…loyalty, friendship, and character…these are attributes that all good men have and all good fathers pass along to their sons…You were like a another father to me…and I am thankful for that…and as for our unspoken love…I loved you like a father…and will always love you, Jonesy.
To be continue…
Todd Wright
Stepson
June 18, 2006
Hey Sarg. Its been about 2-3 weeks since I got on here to look at your reflections. It seems like everyday theres somebody that comes up to me and wants to talk about your incident. When Im with the guys I dont care talking about it at all, but when others come to me about it I really get upset because they ask little details that they just couldnt understand. I got up today and the first thing I started thinking about was you. And when it started making me mad about what happened to you, I got smart with the wife. I kept on apologizing to her and told her I started thinking of you and I lost it, She to got upset I believe. Me and her talk about you all the time, wishing you were here. I'll be honest with ya jones, if she hadn't been here for me during your incident, I dont know what I would have done. She completely understands and feels the same. I am greatly blessed to have her in my life...you always told me she was good to me. She looked up to you like a father to I believe. I know your face is getting red right now because were getting all emotional about you so I hush for now...hahaha. We miss ya jones
A partner who will never forget you Sr.
June 16, 2006
bill, well first i would like to say that is i am so happy that i got to grew up being your little boy and that night before all this happen i am glad we got to spend those hours riding around. Bill its been hard for me to come home now knowing that your not coming home. You was the only one i wanted to be like and i promise you to this day that as soon as i get my schooling done i will follow in your footsteps. i just miss the times we had riding around in the patrol car or just fishing. i need you to be with me, bill its hard for me about the only thing that helps me is being at work or with my friends but when i come home all i can think about is you. Last night its was about 10:30 i sat at homing thinking about you coming home it about killed me. david is getting married i know u wanted to be there but you will be in spirit that is. I graduted and i carried a picture of you. well you will always i mean always be in my heart. i love you with all my heart and i miss you so much.
p.s. bill i am sorry that i didnt show you how much i loved and it hurts knowing that your gone and i can't tell you now, but one day we will be together again like two peas in a pod.
Trevor Wright
Step-son
June 14, 2006
Bill,
I still can't believe you are gone from our lives physically, but know you will live in our hearts forever.
I still remember the first day I came to work at Roane County EMS in Rockwood, you immediately took my under your wing and made it very clear to me that police,fire and ems was a family in Roane Co.
I will also never forget what you did for me when my mom was sick. If i was stuck out on a call, you would go by and check on her for me, and the hardest moment of my life, when she was slipping away from me right in front of my eyes, i felt so helpless, you held my hand and talked me through those last minutes with her. Everytime i was having a bad day or just needed a shoulder, all i'd have to do was call and there you were, no matter what was going on with you that day, you were a very special friend to me and i will think of you every day for the rest of my life. You were one of the best men and officer's i have ever had the honor of knowing and working with and i know you are at peace and died the way i know you would have wanted to, kicking ass and taking names!!!!!!!
My prayers go out to your family and fellow officers, may the lord watch over them.
Shannon Heath, NREMTP
good friend
June 14, 2006
I come to the ODMP often to remember my late fiancé Dennis. Everytime I come here it breaks my heart to know that yet another officer has fallen and that yet another family has to live their lives without the man they loved. My heart goes out to everyone who knew and loved Deputy Jones. Know that you are not alone in the "journey" that you walk. Should you ever need anything please don't hesitate to contact me. The Davis Co. Sheriff's Office in Iowa will always know how to reach me. You will be in my thoughts.
From reading all the reflections left for Bill, he sounds like he was a great man with a beautiful spirit. Those of you who knew him in life were so blessed to have been able to share in it. I hope that you will all continue to find a way to celebrate and remember Bill's life and the MAN that he was. Remember that Bill's life was about so much more than the way he died. Bill will continue to live on as long as we continue to remember him.
Deputy Jones, thank you for helping to make this world a little safer for us all. YOU will not be forgotten. Please continue to watch over all of us as only you can. If you happen to bump into my fiancé Dennis up there give him a big hug for me and the kids. It's been three years but we still miss him terribly.
Wishing you brighter and better days,
Jocelyne :)
"Forever Remembering 26-3"
Jocelyne Brar (Winnipeg, MB Canada)
Fiancee of Deputy Dennis Ray McElderry (EOW: 01/03/03)
June 12, 2006
Well, wanted to be the first to tell you, Tiffany and I are going to get married. I want you to be there so bad I can't stand it. I know you would get mad to know how much we all think about you. Leon and Rocky have been indicted for 1st degree murder two counts each and they are seeking the Death Penalty. Trevor got two shadow boxes of your badges. He is very proud of you, and so am I. But to finish, Thanks for all you have done for me. You will never be forgotten. To the best man, Bill Jones.
David
Best Friend
June 10, 2006
Deputy Sheriff Bill Jones,
I didn't know you personally but I remember hearing Matthew talk about you and I could tell from his stories and that mischievous look he would get that you were his kind of officer. My picture of heaven now is of all you guys together, telling story after story, smiling and laughing and keeping heaven in an uproar. It's those of us left down here that are trying to figure out how to go on without you all. We long for the day we are reunited.
We were in Washington for Police Week when we got the news about you. I nearly fell to my knees at the Memorial Wall. May 11, the day of your shooting, was also Matthew's birthday, he would have been 27. That's why we were in Washington, celebrating his life, honoring his memory. He was 25 when he died, the same number of years that you served as a officer of the law. Matthew loved being a police officer, as obviously you did . I wish he could have served for 25 years also, but even that would not have been long enough. It takes a special man to go into law enforcement and love it, the sacrifice it requires seems to be too much, but still you all do it. We are honored to be a part of the family that makes up the Thin Blue Line.
The Rittenhouse Family holds close with honor and respect your life and memory and dedication to your calling and profession of being an officer of the law.
Linda Rittenhouse, Matt's Mom Forever
Matthew Rittenhouse EOW 9/16/04
Linda Rittenhouse
June 6, 2006
I remember the first time I met you, Bill. It was at the campground. Jeremy and I had went to visit you. You were setting in a chair by a campfire, beer in hand. I've always thought that you were so funny. Every other word was a bad one. My favorite memory of you is a recent one. When you came to Virginia for Jeremy's homecoming. Me, you and Tammy were putting together Aiden's motorcycle. You wouldn't read the directions for shit! Stubborn Man. We eventually got it together and it works great. It's his favorite toy.
I will make sure my son, your only grandson, will know who you were and how much you love him. I hope that you know how much he loves you. I will be surprised if he doesn't follow in your footsteps. You are a hero in our eyes and hearts. You will be missed.
Michelle
Michelle Jones
Daughter-in-law
June 6, 2006
Deputy Bill Jones and former LEO Mike Brown,
We pay honor and tribute to your courage and sacrifice. Your legacies will live on in the lives of those that you touched. May God grant peace to all those affected by this terrible loss to our law enforcement family. You will never be forgotten.
Brothers and Sisters in arms
Blount Co. S.O., TN
June 4, 2006
Bill, i can't believe this has happened. You was loved and respected by so many. You have been such a special friend to me and my family, you supported me threw this awlful court battle.I can't get over the last words you spoke to me. "I will see you Thursday morning at 9,May the 18th. I know you would have been there in person but i know you was there in spirit. But you know what you keep telling me, you was so right. You will be so missed, Lisa.
LISA
ROANE COUNTY EMS
June 2, 2006
To the family and co-workers of Deputy Jones, I pray that the Lord comforts you all during this sad time and in the coming days ahead. When my brother was killed the Lord held my Mom and I up when we thought we could no longer go on. Take care and know that there are many people with the COPS Organization and other places that are here to help where they can. God Bless you.
Joni Brooks
Sister of Sgt. Dale Green EOW 11-13-02
June 2, 2006
Deputy Jones, may God watch over your family and your rider's family. We will hold each one of them close to our hearts. The journey that has just begun for them, we have been touring since April, 2005. Its not easy for anyone.
Rest easy sir, we have the watch from here.
Friends of Larry R Cox EOW 4/21/05
Chillicothe Ohio Police Department
May 31, 2006
May God keep your family in peace. May they trust in HIM and believe in HIS name. My they know that you did make a difference in this world, in the communities in which you served! You will not be forgotten.
Sicerely,
Randy A. Myers
Rand A. Myers
Founder of C.O.P.S.
May 31, 2006
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