McCort

MORRISTOWN — Former Belmont County sheriff Tom McCort died Wednesday at age 79, leaving a legacy of improvement to the department and an example of leadership in law enforcement, according to many who knew him.

“I worked 20 years for him,” current Belmont County Sheriff David Lucas said. “He got elected in 1984. I was a deputy sheriff at the time, and he took office in 1985.”

In the course of his tenure McCort promoted Lucas to sergeant and impressed Lucas with his professionalism and personable nature in working with the public.

“Throughout my career, he assigned me to a lot of high-priority administrative duties,” Lucas said. “Sheriff McCort was a very well-known, well-spoken person. … He was a down-to-earth person and knew everybody. … He always, always gave his people in the community his time and listened to them. I was proud to work for him and be part of his 20-year-tenure.

“He was a mentor for me, in regards to guiding and molding me as a law-enforcement officer,” Lucas said. “Under his watch, that was the time of automation, of computers. We automated the sheriff’s office in the early ’90s. He was here for the implementation, and I was a part of that, too, of the 911 system. Also we moved into the new Belmont County Justice Center in 1996. There was a lot that changed in his 20 years … in regards to going into the 21st Century. … A lot of things were impacted under his watch, his command, that changed the sheriff’s office.”

He said McCort remained a valuable resource due to his experience.

“He was also a personal close friend that, after he left, we continued to stay in contact,” Lucas said. “Me becoming sheriff, he was always there, a phone call away, if I needed something.”

Former sheriff Fred Thompson succeeded McCort after his retirement and had served with McCort for many years before that.

“I knew he’d been fighting cancer for a good while,” Thompson said Thursday. “He made me the detective at the sheriff’s office … he was a good person. … He was a good friend besides being a good sheriff. … He cared about the people of Belmont County. He always put the county and its residents first.”

He said McCort was hands-on, assisting with investigations, such as the brutal 1995 murders of Terry and Marilynn Brooks by their son, Nathan Brooks, in the Bellaire area.

Officials outside the realm of law enforcement also expressed respect for the life and work of McCort.

“I served with him when I was county commissioner,” Pease Township Trustee Michael Bianconi said, noting that among their accomplishments was the construction of a new jail in the 1990s. “At that time of our lives, we were building the new jail. … I knew him many years before I was commissioner.”

McCort impressed Bianconi with his leadership.

“He was always calm,” Bianconi said, “always kept his cool and tried to address the issue. I think he treated everybody with respect and courtesy. … He was a good sheriff and a good man.”

Former commissioner Mark Thomas agreed.

“Tom and I began working together in my first term as county commissioner (2001-04). We spent countless hours working in unison on what would become the county’s first 77-bed jail expansion in July 2004. We had a great and respectful working relationship, and he and I also had some fun off-work times as elected officials,” he said, mentioning events such as the Morristown Old-Timers softball games at the Union Local School District campus. “Tom was a dedicated law enforcement officer and a good sheriff. He loved Belmont County, especially Morristown, and that love carried on long after he retired. Belmont County has lost a true public servant and a better man.”

McCort remained personable and active in the community after his retirement. Larry Jones of St. Clairsville said he attended church with McCort at Thoburn United Methodist Church.

“He was easy to talk to. He had an interest in old cars,” Jones said. “(I’d) see him at car shows now and again.”

McCort, a resident of Morristown, enlisted in the U.S. Army in 1960 and served in the Reserves until 1976. He had a 34-year career in law enforcement. As chief constable of the Union Township/Morristown Police Department, he received Ohio’s first Distinguished Law Enforcement Service Award prior to running for sheriff.

McCort was a student of history and an active public speaker. He was a 32nd Degree Mason and had served as Southeast Region representative for the Buckeye State Sheriff’s Association. He was an instructor in the local peace officer’s training academy.

He is survived by his wife, Pamela Ressler McCort, three sons, four grandchildren and three great-grandsons, among many other family members.

According to the Belmont County sheriff’s Facebook page, once the coronavirus pandemic has passed McCort’s life will be celebrated at a place and time to be announced. Arrangements are entrusted to Toothman Funeral Home in St. Clairsville.

Memorial contributions may be made to the Morristown Historic Preservation Association, P.O. Box 102, Morristown, OH 43759.