Many law enforcement officers and community members are reeling in disbelief after the passing of Blanco County Sheriff’s Sergeant Douglas Lee Bledsoe just over a week ago. On Saturday morning, folks will have a chance to pay their respects to the 65-year-old during a funeral procession that likely will include many peace officers in uniform with mourning bands over their badges.

“I’m still just devastated,” said Blanco County Sheriff Don Jackson, who spoke with the News on Monday. It had been exactly one week since Bledsoe died, on Feb. 23. “He was a close friend. I knew him and his family for well over 20 years, before I became sheriff. When I put my hat in to run for sheriff, I’d asked him to come work for me if I got elected and he agreed. I took office in January of 2017, and he came on board that March. He was a good leader.”

Jackson said that Bledsoe was one of two sergeants with the office and had his own shift in which he supervised a couple of deputies.

“He’ll be very, very hard to replace,” Jackson said.

After 30-plus years in law enforcement, Bledsoe finally was coming to terms with the idea of retirement.

“He was talking about it but I think he wanted to work at least another year,” Jackson said. “He never gave us an exact date but he was definitely eligible to retire.”

Jackson said that many people in the community knew Bledsoe.

“It was old-time law enforcement in that he knew everybody,” Jackson said. “He was just Doug. He was straightforward and he had a really good sense of humor. He’ll always be remembered.”

Chief Deputy Robert Woodring is another person who will not soon be forgetting Bledsoe, whom he first met in the 1990s.

“I was a fairly new officer and came to work here in Blanco County and he was a patrol sergeant and my field training officer,” Woodring said. “I think I gave him some gray hair but that’s not unusual for young officers. That’s the whole purpose of having a training officer.”

After a time, Bledsoe became more than a mentor; indeed, he became a close friend.

“He was the person I always would call...He was on my speed-dial,” Woodring said. “He was like my rock.”

Others in the law enforcement community felt the same.

“If anyone had a problem, they went to Doug,” Woodring said. “He was the voice of reason and he always ended up being right.”

OTHER LAW ENFORCEMENT REACTION The Blanco County Constable’s Office for Precinct 1 announced on social media on Feb. 25, that friends and family are invited to the funeral service set to be held on March 7, at 11 a.m. at First Baptist Church in Blanco. Following the service, a procession will be held to Cox Cemetery.

According to a statement from the Texas Municipal Police Association on Feb. 25, Bledsoe was in Belize when he “was rushed home...after developing a severe medical condition, and after a courageous three-week battle with acute pancreatitis, he passed peacefully with family and close friends at his side.”

Bledsoe served with the Blanco Police Department, which also released a statement on Feb. 25: “Sergeant Bledsoe was a man of extraordinary character, whose kind heart, overwhelming spirit, and unwavering dedication to the citizens of Blanco County touched the lives of all who knew him.”

Additionally, on Feb. 24, the mayor of Johnson City ordered that flags be lowered to half-staff in his honor.

“We ask the Lord to surround his family with love and comfort and to be their rock and refuge during this time,” said Mayor Stephanie Fisher in her statement.