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On Friday, the Chambers County Sheriff’s Office received devastating news —  one of their brothers passed away suddenly.

Capt. Jason Fuller had died at the age of 47.

Fuller began his life of service to his community around the age of 14 by becoming an explorer with Valley Police Department.

At the age of 21, the Valley Police Department hired him as a full-time officer and sent him to the Alabama Police Academy, where he excelled and completed his rite of passage into law enforcement.

Death is the one facet of life we all have to deal with at one time or another. Losing a loved one is never easy, but losing a child is seemingly much harder. As the old adage goes, no parent should have to bury their child and that is just what JoAnn and Ray Fuller had to do on Tuesday.

Fuller was laid to rest Tuesday afternoon in Marseilles Cemetery.  Funeral services were held inside the Valley Community Center, followed by a mile and a half long procession with law enforcement and EMS vehicles led by Sheriff Sid Lockhart escorting Fuller to his final resting place.

By all accounts, Fuller was an exceptional human being and that was evidenced by the outpouring of support from the community.

As the procession turned out of the community center, families were gathered on the side of the road to pay their respects.

As the procession came through Lanett, it was met by City of Lanett utility employees lined up in their vehicles at the mill site, and at Cherry Drive, the Lanett Fire Department unveiled a large American flag attached to the ladder and positioned it over Highway 29 as the procession made its way into West Point.

Employees from CenterState Bank took a few moments away from their work to stand on the sidewalk as Fuller’s body made its way to Marseilles Cemetery in West Point.

It could have been because he was a sheriff’s deputy, it could have been because he was such a well-liked person or both, but it definitely proved once again, why this community is the best place in the State of Alabama to live and work.