BLOOMFIELD, Mo. - "Truly, I can say I feel like I've made a difference," said former Stoddard County Chief Deputy Tommy Horton. "You have to, or you don't want anything to do with it."
Horton's last day on the job was Dec. 23, 2016, but his official retirement is Jan. 31, 2017.
The sheriff's department had a retirement party for Horton on his last day at work -- a career that spanned over two decades under two different sheriffs. County officials and employees also held a "roast" for Horton's retirement at the annual Christmas party.
Horton has numerous memories from his years in law enforcement.
One memory that has stayed with Horton is an arrest he made of a man on drug charges.
"The guy thanked me for taking him to jail," recalled Horton. "That was what he needed to get straightened out."
The most vivid memory Horton has of his years of service goes back to his first day on the job. He had just graduated from the Law Enforcement Training Academy at Southeast Missouri State University. He took the job of deputy under the late Steve Fish who was sheriff at that time.
Horton was alone at the sheriff's office at 6 a.m. on a Sunday when a call came in from the Poplar Bluff Police Department. They had arrested a man for a traffic violation, and when they pulled him over he was covered in blood and had a rifle in the vehicle with him. He told PB police that he lived near Leora in Stoddard County, and that he had killed his wife and daughter. PB officers asked Horton if he would go to the residence to do a welfare check.
Horton was alone at the time. Fortunately, former Bloomfield Chief of Police Freddy Rickman was on duty. He had stopped by to visit Horton and agreed to ride with him up to the Leora area. The residence turned out to be a mobile home off Highway K.
"We were walking up to the trailer and there was nothing but dead silence," Horton said. "That's what struck me -- no birds or sounds of any kind."
Horton and Rickman went up on the porch and found the door partly open.
"This is no good," Horton recalled thinking at the time.
They knocked, but there was no answer. They entered the mobile home and immediately saw two bodies on a couch.
"They (mother and teenage daughter) were dead and covered with a blanket," said Horton. "I got on the radio and told them I'm gonna need some help."
It was a day Horton will never forget.
"That was the only double homicide I've worked in over 20 years."
Horton wanted to be in law enforcement, even as a child. He was a sixth grade crossing guard at the One Mile Road and Grant Street intersection near Southwest Elementary where he went to school. It was there that he met Dexter Policeman Pete Healey. Healey each year went around to local businesses to raise money to pay for a trip to a St. Louis Cardinal game in St. Louis for the crossing guards. Horton idolized him and dreamed of being a police officer.
Actually, Horton was born in Harrison, Ark. His family moved to Dexter when he was a one-year-old. Woody and Faye Horton opened Faye's Bakery in Dexter, a Dexter landmark. He graduated from Dexter High School, and helped his parents in the bakery for the next 17 or 18 years. His brother, Wilson, also worked at the bakery.
Horton married his high school sweetheart, Pam Cato, in 1967. They have two daughters, Laura and Rachel.
Horton took a job in sales in 1970, and the couple moved to Memphis, Tenn.
"I thought I would be good at it because I'm a people person," Horton said.
The couple lived there until 1974, but returned to Dexter where he again worked at Faye's Bakery.
Horton later enlisted in the National Guard as part of the Dexter Transportation Unit. He was deployed during Desert Storm in 1991.
When Horton returned home, he made the decision to go into law enforcement. He received funding under the G.I. Bill to pay for the Law Enforcement Training Academy. He graduated in August 1994, and was hired by Fish on a part-time reserve status. In May of 1995, he moved to a full-time deputy position.
Later in 2003, Fish was retiring as sheriff and Horton had ideas about running for the position. He even filed for the office.
"I was getting ready to launch my campaign," recalled Horton.
He had to withdraw as a candidate when he was called up by the National Guard on Nov. 17, 2003. He was deployed to Iran where he served 13 months.
When Horton returned from deployment, Carl Hefner had been elected sheriff. Horton was hired by Hefner as chief deputy, a job he held until his retirement.
As chief deputy, there was a lot of administrative work dealing with day-to-day operations. He put together work schedules and reviewed arrest reports by other deputies.
"It has to be right -- you have to be correct," Horton said of the incident reports. "Most of all, it has to make sense."
The administrative work did not prevent him from working in the field. The real satisfaction he got from his work was in the field.
"A deputy's job is totally different than a city policeman and Highway Patrolman," Horton said. "There are more criminal investigations, and there is more interaction with people."
The latter is where Horton excelled -- interaction with people.
The many memories include one from his first drug bust. He was filling out paperwork when he felt a tug on his pant leg. He looked down and there was a blonde headed, blue eyed three-year-old boy.
"What is your name?" asked the boy. "Can I go home with you?"
The boy's questions were heart-wrenching.
"I will make sure you have a nice place to sleep and that they are nice to you," Horton told the boy.
"The mother never asked about the child one time," Horton remembered.
There are other stories from Horton's career -- stories that will remain with him forever.
"You look back on your career," said Horton. "There are plusses and minuses -- good days and bad days."
One thing that stands out to Horton about that last day of work was a comment made by an inmate at the jail. He came up to me and wanted to shake by hand.
"You did a good job," Horton said the inmate told him.
"I wanted to treat people like I wanted to be treated, and I feel I was able to do that for over 20 years."