After 47 years, Sheron remembers 'the great people I've had to work with'

Of the hundreds of incidents and memories that retiring Genesee County Sheriff William Sheron will be taking with him, there’s no one particular instance that he holds dear, he says.

“I think it’s kind of cliche, but the people you get to work with, not only here in the sheriff’s office, but the fellow law enforcement officers, the emergency responders, the volunteer firemen, are incredible,” Sheron said Monday during his last day at the sheriff’s Park Road office. “Those are the things that really stand out to me, and just the opportunities I’ve had over the many years I’ve been here and the great people I’ve had to work with.”

Sheron began his career on June 4, 1977, at the age of 18 as an emergency dispatcher. On Monday, he was preparing for the official “walk-out.” Several deputies, county officials, friends and family members lined the sidewalk to salute and applaud the outgoing sheriff’s accomplishments and nearly five decades of service in law enforcement.  

Before that could happen, he gave the final call over the radio: “Genesee One. GS-1, after 47 years of service, is out of service. Thank you to everybody. I appreciate the opportunities I’ve had, and God bless you all.”

Dispatch responded, “GS-1 out of service. Thank you for your 47 years of service and dedication to the community of Genesee County. Best of luck on your future endeavors.”

And, with that, Sheron pulled his hat on, topping off his dress uniform, and he and wife Shari linked arms and began to walk down the sidewalk during an emotional salute. 

“I’m very proud of what he's accomplished, starting from dispatcher all the way up to Sheriff,” Shari said. “And I'm just very proud of him.”

Frank Riccobono has known the sheriff for nearly all of his time with Genesee County, having also worked his way up from an auxiliary police officer in 1980 to director of emergency communications. 

“I’ve had a long career with Bill. He’s been a great leader. Not just a leader, but a good friend, and he's often helped me out, been great in guidance. Obviously, I've worked my way up through, and he's been there every step of the way. And I can't thank him enough,” Riccobono said. “It’s going to be different, especially because now I'm the old guy. So it's definitely going to be different with both Bills — both Bill Zipfel and Bill Sheron — retiring. That's a lot of experience that's gone out the door, and luckily, we have good people still here, but they both have big shoes that we're going to have to fill.” 

Batavia City Police Chief Shawn Heubusch described Sheron as a “consummate gentleman” and someone who was “always there to lend a helping hand.”

“Any time there's a major incident or a major critical incident, Bill's always been there with whatever we needed. He's always been able to help us out. And personally, I've leaned on him for support and guidance through helping me become the chief that I am. So he's a good man, a real good man,” Heubusch said. “He’s got a really good successor in place, and Joe, Sheriff Graff, I think he's got big shoes to fill, but he's been around a long time. He's not like he's only got three years on the job; he’s been around for 20-plus years, and he's been around this organization for 20 years, which is important. He knows the inner workings. We have a great working relationship now. I don't expect anything to change, I think our relationship will just continue to grow.”

Meanwhile, Sheron said it would take some time to figure out what to do next. He has “mixed emotions” about leaving and plans to spend some time in warmer weather for a while.

“I love working here; it's my second family. I've always said that the people here are like my children now, brothers and sisters. So it's mixed emotions. I know it's time to move on, it's time for new blood in here, and I just think that I don't know, I'm gonna wait till the dust settles, and then it'll hit home, and I'll decide what I'm going to do from here. There are a few things going around in my head, but nothing concrete right now,” he said. “We're going to take a little time in Florida, and then I'm sure I'll come up with something. Between my wife and I, we’ll find something for me to do.”