Former Sheriff H.D. Moses laid to rest Sunday in Emlyn

Dozens of police, fire, and emergency service vehicles led the funeral procession for former Williamsburg Police Chief, jailer, and four-term sheriff H.D. Moses, who was laid to rest Sunday afternoon.
“He treated people just like he had known them all his life. This is what he instilled in those of us, who worked for him,” said friend and former Deputy Russell Richarson, who worked eight years for Moses. “He wanted the public treated good.
“No matter what they were accused of or what they might have done, they were still human beings and he wanted them treated that way. He was a good friend and a fine fellow.”
Whitley County Coroner Andy Croley pronounced Moses, 69, dead at 3:35 p.m. Thursday from natural causes. No autopsy was ordered.
He was found lying near the entryway to the door on the back porch of his Emlyn home. Whitley County EMS responded to the scene, but Moses was unresponsive, and the coroner’s office was notified.
Moses served as Williamsburg Police Chief from 1969-1977 when he was elected to his first term as Whitley County Sheriff. He served as sheriff until 1981 when he was elected Whitley County Jailer.
After serving four years as jailer, Moses was re-elected as sheriff and served three consecutive terms until retiring in 1998. In all he served 17 years as sheriff and worked in law enforcement for more than 30 years.
“I just know we have lost a heck of a citizen, and a heck of a man. The community will suffer from it,” said former sheriff and long-time Moses’ friend Ancil Carter.
“He meant well for everybody in Whitley County. He taught that to all of his deputies and anybody that came in contact with him. They were first.”
“He was a friend indeed,” said Matt Witt, who knew Moses for 35 years and was a pallbearer at his funeral.
“He was a person that didn’t want to harm anybody,” Witt said. “He did his best to help anybody.
“I knew a lot of people that he took home instead of putting them in jail because he knew they didn’t need to be there. He was that kind of person. He was just an all around good person to the people. He loved kids.”
Moses was the first sheriff in Whitley County to send deputies through the Department of Criminal Justice Training at Eastern Kentucky University in Richmond.
He had never lost an election bid before an unsuccessful attempt to run again for sheriff last year. He was defeated in the Republican Primary by incumbent Sheriff Lawrence Hodge.
“I just really miss it,” Moses said in a News Journal interview this past May about his bid for another term in office. “I want to be honest with the people. I want to get out there and protect the people.”
Funeral services were held Sunday afternoon for Moses at the Croley Funeral Home Chapel.
Law enforcement officers from at least seven different agencies attended the funeral, and helped lead the funeral procession.
Moses was laid to rest at the Emlyn Cemetery.
At the close of Sunday’s ceremony, officers turned on their radios so 911 dispatchers could issue their final page for Moses.
“Units calling for H.D. Moses, Unit 100, we will miss you. May you rest in peace.”