Be Like Sherrill

In days of yore, there were reasonable Democrats. The bellwether issue today is abortion, but it wasn’t always so. My friend, Sherrill Stafford, was a lifelong Dem who just couldn’t grasp not being one. He was also a terrific guy, compassionate beyond measure, wiser than I will ever be, and a peacemaker. When I was elected District Attorney, I changed some jail procedures, to the chagrin of Public Defender Terry Everett.  We were engaged in some media tussling over jail access when Sherrill called me and suggested I take Terry to lunch on the county’s credit card. I told him he should take her to lunch. He replied that he didn’t have any disagreements with her. I told him if he took her to lunch, he would. He laughed so hard that I was afraid for his health.

Sherrill died suddenly back in 2000, literally gone to heaven before his truck hit the ditch. First Baptist Centerville was my and Sherrill’s church. He had regaled me with stories about his childhood at Hattie Baptist Church (which became Centerville Baptist in 1958), of traveling to church on Sunday in the horse-drawn wagon, of growing from a baby to a teen, sharing a meal with all of the congregants, and staying all day, only going home when the evening service was concluded. That experience was Sherrill’s foundation in governance. His calmness, wisdom, and patience were all developed under the giant oaks around the church.  

His funeral was, and still is, the most attended funeral in Hattie/Centerville Baptist history. For me, it was the end of an era. Sherrill’s advice had always been sound, well, except for that lunch suggestion.

As our community becomes more fragmented, divided by a medium that fractures people instead of healing them, I doubt there will ever be another like Sherrill. The days of all-day-long church attendance, civic club participation, community activism, and creating a groundswell of support for a candidate, those are things of the past. Things are so contrived today. But there is hope.

In this season of thanksgiving, and marveling at the ultimate gift, be like Sherrill. So many of you are, I am amazed. But many are the opposite. Pray for them and be a good example. Life is short, but it is good. Make the most of it.

Kelly Burke, attorney, former district attorney, and magistrate judge, writes about the law, rock’n’roll, and politics or anything that strikes him. Contact Kelly at dakellyburke@gmail.com to comment on this article or suggest articles that you’d like to see, and visit his website at www.kellyrburke.com  to view prior columns.

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