BELLAIRE – At 6 feet tall, Katherine “Kathy” Crumbley stood head and shoulders above the crowd wherever she went. And as the first female in the nation to win a competitive election for sheriff, capturing the Belmont County sheriff’s post in 1976, she brought sheriffing to new heights as well.

It has been five years since the native of Bellaire and product of Bellaire schools died. During her lifetime, Crumbley served as a Belmont County deputy for nearly four years before filing a gender-based wage discrimination lawsuit against the county. She received a financial settlement in the case and went on to work as a field representative for the United Mine Workers of America Health and Retirement Funds before running for election.

During her run for sheriff, Crumbley, a Democrat, beat out four-term sheriff George Neff in the primary. She went on to best Republican opponent Richard Stobbs and Independent Marvin Hardy.

Keeping her campaign promises, Crumbley instituted a no-nonsense approach to the sheriff’s post. She fired two deputies and a clerk. She hired deputies based on merit and experience. She initiated additional patrols, providing police presence across Belmont County 24 hour a day, seven days per week. She told a newspaper reporter that she would not ask any deputy to take on a task that she would not do herself.

Crumbley also reconfigured the sheriff’s department offices, utilizing space to the best use for the daily operations of the department.

Her role as the first female sheriff in Ohio brought her national and worldwide attention. She made guest appearances on the “Tonight Show” with Johnny Carson, never faltering despite his comical jabs at her. Crumbley also enjoyed a visit to the TV show “Hee Haw,” where she was featured on camera giving a cornfield “salute” to Belmont County, with a population at the time of 82,000. She also was tapped to appear on the “Mike Douglas Show.”

Crumbley received numerous awards and recognitions, including the Alumni Award and the DAR Award from Bellaire High School. In 1995, she was inducted into the school’s Hall of Fame and was also an honorary referee in girls’ sporting events.

After an unsuccessful bid for re-election, she worked as a fraud investigator/supervisor for the Belmont County Department of Job and Family Services.

She was married to James C. “Brutus” Crumbley, who preceded her in death in 1989. They had one son, Joshua, and several grandchildren.

Upon her death in June 2011, retired Belmont County Sheriff Tom McCort said Crumbley was a dedicated servant to the people of Belmont County.

“She was the one who started the practice of patrolling all sectors of the county,” McCort noted. “It was something that I did when I became sheriff, but she was the one who started it.”

Mary Graham served as a deputy under Crumbley.

“She was a very competent sheriff and did her job well,” Graham said.

Former Belmont County Prosecutor Frank Pierce said he worked with Crumbley in her capacity as a fraud investigator at the Belmont County Department of Job and Family Services.

“She did an outstanding job as an investigator,” Pierce said.