LIMA — The late James Everett may be gone forever, but his memory will live on at the department in which he dedicated more than 40 years of his life, and in the village he called home.
Everett, a longtime Allen County sheriff’s’s deputy who served as interim sheriff before his death in February, was memorialized Monday during a ceremony with his fellow law enforcement officers, friends, family and community leaders.
At the ceremony, Allen County Sheriff Matt Treglia and his colleagues unveiled a portrait of Everett in the department’s conference room. Above the portrait is a flag that was flown during Everett’s tenure as sheriff, and below is a plaque that reads “In grateful appreciation of a life of public service.” The plaque and picture were donated by the Allen County commissioners.
After the portrait was unveiled, a group that included Treglia and Everett’s wife, Pam, traveled to Cairo for another dedication ceremony. A memorial bench in Everett’s honor was placed next to a tree that the Sheriff’s Office planted at the Cairo Fire Department. Everett was the mayor of Cairo from 2008 to 2015.
The bench was donated by Allen County Fabrication, and the tree was sold to the Sheriff’s Office at less than half the regular price by Spieles Nurseries in Shawnee Township. The Sheriff’s Office raised money for the bench, but because Allen County Fabrication would not accept the money, it was given to the Everett family.
Pam Everett was overcome with emotion as she accepted the donation, hugging her family and Everett’s colleagues who gathered for the ceremonies.
“I’m speechless,” she said. “What the community has done — it’s just overwhelming. I feel blessed that the community has pulled together and honored him for the man he was. He was truly an awesome man.”
Everett described her husband as a humble man who put the needs of others before himself.
“He had a great heart,” she said, “and he loved his job.”
Treglia said Everett was a mentor, a best friend and a father figure to himself and anyone else who came in contact with him at the Sheriff’s Office.
“He taught everyone so much,” Treglia said. “He taught everyone how to be humble, how to be prideful in this uniform, and how to do the right thing.”
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