County mourns beloved School Resource Officer Jerry Critchelow

Students and faculty gathered together last Wednesday morning after hearing news of the death of their beloved School Resource Officer Jerry Critchelow, who died April 20 following a heart attack. The community waited in line for more than three hours at the high school Friday and Saturday to pay their respects to his family.

“That is a testament to the importance and reach he had in this community,” said OCHS Principal Alex Embry. “The impact he had on the students can’t be measured.”

Embry said “Officer Critchelow was the fabric of the school” as he was one of the first faces many saw every morning.

“He was a lot to a lot of people. He was our resource officer but he was so much more than that.”

During his 13 years in the role, he could often be found sitting at lunch with students or hanging out with them at break.

He tried to make school a fun environment, Embry said, by bringing his own speaker to the lunchroom to play music often takings students’ requests.

Many students took to social media to post their memories of Critchelow and the impact he had on their lives.

Embry said he instantly became friends with everyone he came in contact with through his smile and spirit.

“Another teacher said that everyone felt like his friend and he made you feel like a special friend,” Embry said. “That is hard to replace.”

Before working for the Ohio County Sheriff’s Office as a resource officer, Critchelow served as a Kentucky State Trooper for 30 years before his retirement in 2008.

“Deputy Critchelow has served our county for many years and has helped protect our schools as a school resource officer. Deputy Critchelow has been a role model and mentor for many people, including our law enforcement officers, and has dedicated his life to the safety and security of our citizens. Our thoughts and prayers are with his family as we mourn the loss of a fellow officer,” Ohio County Sheriff Tracy Beatty said in a statement on social media.

Critchelow’s obit says that he has been described as many things, “an avid hunter, athlete, witty, knife-tosser, animal lover, prankster, protector, spray-foamer, teacher, taxidermist, leader, fixer-upper, scuba diver, gardener, powered parachuter, brutally considerate, hibachi chef, hero, friend, explorer, marksman, listener, consoler, singer and storyteller. He never met a stranger, never said no to someone in need, and was a breath of fresh air. He loved his family, his law enforcement families, his students and all the staff at Ohio County High School. He was born to serve and make people feel loved.”

In Deputy Critchelow’s honor, the sheriff’s office displayed his cruiser in front of the high school for the community to pay tribute.

Following Critchelow’s death, OCHS Fellowship of Christian Athletes held a service in his honor Wednesday morning that several hundred students and faculty attended.

Deputy Critchelow’s services were held at the high school with visitation Friday evening and funeral Saturday. Embry said some mourners were in line until after 10:30 p.m. to pay their respects and more than 1,200 people attended the funeral. Embry expressed his gratitude to the school board for allowing the family to hold the funeral at the school because “there was no better place.”