Former Gwinnett Sheriff Bobby Plunkett Passes at age of 83

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Former Gwinnett County Sheriff Bobby Plunkett, 83, died Sunday night after a long illness. Plunkett was county sheriff from 1985 to 1992, and a former chief with the Lawrenceville and Gwinnett police departments

“Bobby was a great friend and colleague whom I greatly admired,” Gwinnett Sheriff Butch Conway said in a department statement. “He will be missed.”

The sheriff’s office emailed the following statement on Plunkett’s passing:

It is with great sadness that we announce the death of former Gwinnett County Sheriff, Bobby Plunkett, who passed away last night after an extended illness at the age of 83 years.

Sheriff (Ret.) Plunkett served Gwinnett County as sheriff from 1985 – 1992. He is credited with implementing the Direct Supervision concept at the Gwinnett County Jail, which is followed to this day. Direct supervision is a progressive jail management style which combines the physical design of a jail and inmate management strategies to significantly reduce problematic inmate behavior commonly seen in jails.

Sheriff Butch Conway greatly admired Bobby Plunkett and is appreciative of his vision to have the current county jail built as a Direct Supervision model. “Bobby’s foresight to build a jail of this nature allowed us to get through the jail overcrowding of the early 2000s without experiencing some of the difficulties that other jails were experiencing at the time. Bobby was a great friend and colleague whom I greatly admired. He will be missed.”

A native of Trion, Georgia (Chattooga County), Sheriff (Ret.) Plunkett served honorably in the U.S. Army, where he saw combat during the Korean War. He moved to Atlanta in 1957, where he met and married Betty Jo Biddy after two months of courtship. Their marriage spanned 46 years until Betty preceded her husband in death in 2003. The couple had a son, Michael.

Sheriff (Ret.) Plunkett served the Suwanee, Lawrenceville and Gwinnett County Police Departments before running for sheriff in 1984, serving as police chief during his tenure with both the Lawrenceville and Gwinnett County Police Departments.

The family will receive friends from 2 pm - 4 pm and 6 pm – 8 pm on Tuesday, July 21, 2015 at Tim Stewart Funeral Home located at 300 Simonton Rd SW in Lawrenceville.

Services will be held on July 22, 2015 at 2 pm at Tim Stewart Funeral Home. Please leave online condolences at stewartfh.com.