By Michael Donoghue

ST. JOHNSBURY — Caledonia County Sheriff James A. Hemond lost his battle to cancer on Sunday morning.

The Sheriff’s Office announced this afternoon his passing from a rare form of cancer. Hemond was deeply dedicated to the sheriff’s department and worked for as long as humanly possible.

“Most of you wouldn’t have known it as he was here almost every day working to achieve as much of his goals as Sheriff as he could. He still had more to go and we will honor him by continuing to achieve his goals. Please keep his family and our family in your thoughts as we navigate through this difficult time,” the announcement said.

A police escort was underway this afternoon to bring Hemond from the Dartmouth Hitchcock Medical Center in Lebanon, N.H. back to the Sayles Funeral Home on Summer Street in St. Johnsbury while also passing by the St. Johnsbury Police station and the sheriff’s office.

Funeral arrangements were incomplete on Sunday afternoon.

Hemond has been trying to build the department back up after losing some personnel before taking office.

Two of his neighboring sheriffs, who often interacted with him and his department, had high praise for the work ethic Hemond displayed.

“Jim was a good man. He was a good working partner and he was good to work with,” Orleans County Sheriff Jennifer Harlow told Vermont News First.

Essex County Sheriff Trevor Colby said it was a sad loss for Vermont. Colby said the two departments worked together and sometimes had joint training sessions.

“He was really supportive as a sheriff to our agency. He stayed dedicated to being sheriff and fulfilled that role right up to the end,” Colby said.

Colby noted Hemond responded frequently to police calls and was at the scene the night St. Johnsbury Police Capt. D. Jason Gray was seriously wounded by a wanted felon.

Hemond, a Republican from Waterford, defeated Joel M. Pierce, an independent from Danville, 6,279 to 5,459 in the General Election in November 2022. Hemond was the department’s chief deputy and held the rank of captain when he won the election. Piece, who is now the St. Johnsbury Police Chief, was a Barre City detective when running for the office.

They were looking to replace Sheriff Dean Shatney, who did not seek re-election.

Hemond had been with the department for more than 19 years. He earlier served as a patrol officer with both St. Johnsbury and Lyndonville Police Departments.

The Caledonia deputies and staff during a February ceremony had dedicated their updated office on Memorial Drive in St. Johnsbury to Hemond. Hemond wanted to allow for growth of the department and to provide more services in the county. The department provides patrol contracts to 13 towns.

A new modern fingerprinting machine has been obtained and will help expand service.

Hemond was active for more than 20 years with the Governor’s Highway Safety Program and with SafeKids Vermont initiatives and events.

Hemond’s passing drew a swift and immediate reaction in the community. The Facebook post by the sheriff’s department in the first hour generated 145 comments, 146 shares and over 445 emojis.

When he was running for sheriff, Hemond was a member of the Board of Directors for Northeast Kingdom Human Services.

Hemond also had experience as a local school board member on the Caledonia Cooperative Unified School District board and the Caledonia Central Supervisory Union board, the Caledonian-Record said. He also was a certified firearms instructor and field training officer through the Vermont Police Academy.