Former Delaware County Sheriff laid to rest

JAY, Okla – Former Delaware County Sheriff Jim Earp is remembered by his former law enforcement colleagues as “a sheriff of the people.”

Jimmy Ray “Jim” Earp died on Sept. 4.  His memorial service was held on Tuesday afternoon at Mt. Hermon Church, followed by his burial at Mt. Hermon cemetery with Full Military Honors by the Grove Veteran’s Ritual Team.

Click here to read more about Earp’s life.

“A lot of us started our careers under him, and to this day, we still say, ‘It was the best times of our careers,’” said Oklahoma Highway Patrol Trooper Ruben Hernandez-Gonzales.

The first Hispanic law enforcement officer hired in Delaware County, Hernandez-Gonzales, remembered his former boss as a man “who gave me a chance to prove myself.”

“He gave me my start in law enforcement,” Hernandez-Gonzales said.

Earp started his law enforcement career as a City of Tulsa lake patrolman and served as a deputy for former Delaware County Sheriff Bob Hughes.

He was elected Delaware County Sheriff in 1988, served until 2000, and remains the longest-serving consecutive Sheriff in Delaware County.

Health reasons prompted the sheriff to retire and not seek a fourth term.

One of the closest calls on Earp’s life was in April 1999 when he grabbed a gun’s muzzle during a standoff with a suspect who had fatally shot his wife.

After negotiating with the suspect for about an hour,  Oklahoma Highway Patrol Trooper Steven Smith and Earp were wounded when they rushed the gunman attempting to peacefully end a standoff in a cemetery near Bernice, east of Grove.

Earp’s forearm was grazed, and Smith was shot in the throat.  Smith, who was rendered a quadriplegic, succumbed to his injuries seven years later.

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