The sun was shining down on Michigan Street in Plymouth Friday as Marshall County residents gathered together to celebrate the memory of former sheriff Tom Chamberlin with a bridge dedication in his honor.
Plymouth Mayor Mark Senter started out by giving personal thanks to the Chamberlin family for sharing Sheriff Tom with the community for as long as they did. Tom’s wife of 37 years Lea Ann was there with their three children, Rachel, Meredith and Tom Jr.
Pastor Pat Puglisi from the Plymouth Missionary Church opened the ceremony with a thoughtful prayer expressing Sheriff Chamberlin’s devotion to God and the church.
Mayor Senter went on to talk about how Tom Chamberlin started out in the Argos Police Department and moved to Plymouth PD in 1985 where he moved up the ranks from patrol man, to investigator, to sergeant and eventually served as police chief under two different mayors. Chamberlin extended his service to the community by becoming a county commissioner in 2004. In 2010 he ran for sheriff and maintained that position for two terms until his passing in 2015.
Mayor Senter handed the microphone over to Plymouth Police Chief David Bacon who was a fellow police officer, mentee and close friend of Chamberlin’s,
“Tom was a true leader. He led with professionalism, dignity and integrity. He was not afraid to make the difficult decisions that come with being a leader. The decisions he made were based on his ideals that what he was doing was truly in the best interest of the department, the city or the county.”
After Police Chief Bacon, Tom’s son Tom Jr. addressed the crowd. He traveled all the way from Ohio to witness the dedication and was tremendously moved by the community’s commitment to his father,
“Thank you to the city and to the mayor for this opportunity as a way that we can continue to remember my dad, every time we drive over it in whatever direction that might be. People are going to be passing by this sign constantly and it’s going to be a good reminder for this whole community of what my dad has done.”
The two final speakers were Tom’s brothers Matt and John Chamberlin.
John Chamberlin was soft spoken and expressed his gratitude to the community declaring at the end of his speech, “mom would be so proud.”
Matt cracked a joke during his speech and then took on a more serious tone when talking about the future, “With a plaque that will state Thomas Chamberlin Memorial Bridge, one day our children’s children will be crossing this bridge and ask ‘Who is that Tom Chamberlin guy?’ and their internet search will describe a man who was loyal to his God, his family and his community.”
