Sheriff Carey Winders passes
By From staff reports
Published in News on January 24, 2014 1:46 PM
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Sheriff Carey Winders
Wayne County Sheriff Carey Winders, who was the first Republican to hold the office in more than a century, died early Friday of a heart attack.
He was 57.
Winders was serving his fifth term in office. He was first elected in 1994 and was re-elected every four years since then.
At press time Friday, a small group of law enforcement officers and other local law enforcement officials were gathered at Wayne Memorial Hospital, where Winders had been taken. Few words were being spoken and more than one man had tears in his eyes.
Maj. Tom Effler of the Sheriff's Office issued this press release late Friday morning:
"With heavy hearts, the Wayne County Sheriff's Office is announcing that Sheriff Carey A. Winders passed away this morning. It appears he suffered a massive heart attack at his home. He was treated by Wayne County EMS at the home, then transported to Wayne Memorial Hospital. The emergency room staff at the hospital treated him, but he was pronounced deceased.
"Please keep Sheriff Winders' family and the Wayne County Sheriff's Office in your prayers."
Winders was a detective with the Goldsboro Police Department before entering politics.
A native of Pikeville, he was a 1975 graduate of Charles B. Aycock High School and a graduate of Wayne Community College.
The son of the late Aaron and Ernestine Winders, he began his career in law enforcement with the Goldsboro police in 1984 and was later promoted to investigator.
"He was a friend," Wayne County Commission Chairman Wayne Aycock said today. "He was a local kid. I was with him for about an hour yesterday. He was a dear friend. He was a dedicated law enforcement officer.
"It is sad," Superior Court Judge Arnold Jones said. "Carey Winders worked hard and was an asset to law enforcement. People who worked for him had had a great deal of respect for him. People who worked with him, like me, had a lot of respect for him as well.
"He was not only a good sheriff, he was a friend to me and a lot of people in Wayne County."
"I had a lot of respect for Carey," former county Commissioner Andy Anderson said. "He was very concerned about the people. He was involved with the people. He tried to look after the county, and looking at what he was working with, I think he did a good job. I have a lot of respect for him."
The news has also touched Winders' colleagues in the law enforcement community.
"Carey was a good law enforcement officer, a good family man and somebody I thought a lot of," former Lenoir County Sheriff Billy Smith said.
"I was shocked and saddened to hear of the passing of Sheriff Winders," Duplin County Sheriff Blake Wallace said. "He and I were good friends, both personally and professionally.
"Sheriff Winders was good to me during my time as sheriff. My heart goes out to his wife, Teresa, and the family. My wife and Teresa were very good friends."
Smith said Winders was the type of man who took his work seriously and talked frankly about it.
"If he didn't like something, he would tell you," Smith said. "For me, he was very, very likeable. He was just someone you could sit down and talk with. He was all about the job. There were no airs about him. He was all about doing law enforcement professionally."
To read his obituary, including further funeral details, click here.
To read a selection of comments left on the Goldsboro News-Argus Facebook page, click here.
To add your own memories of Sheriff Carey Winders, visit the Goldsboro News-Argus Facebook page.