Sheriff Gregg Morton retires from his 30-year law career

FAIRFIELD - Jefferson County Sheriff Gregg Morton is retiring at the end of the year, bringing to a close a career in law enforcement that has lasted more than 30 years, most in Southeast Iowa.

On Jan. 4, Morton will hand the reins to the newly elected sheriff of Jefferson County, Bart Richmond, who is now the chief deputy. Morton hangs up his spurs after eight years as sheriff and 23 years in the Jefferson County Sheriff's Office. He was hired by in 1997 by then-Sheriff Frank Bell, who just died earlier this winter. Before then, Morton worked in the Fairfield Police Department for seven years.

Morton did not picture himself working in law enforcement as a young man. His father, Lee, was a full-time firefighter in Fairfield for 30-some years, and Gregg sought to carry on that legacy.

But the first thing Morton did after graduating from Fairfield High School in 1982 was join the U.S. Marine Corps. In school, he loved reading the magazine 'Leatherneck,” a publication of the Marines'.

'They seemed to be the toughest, most challenging branch of service, and I wanted a challenge,” Morton recalled.

In the Marines, Morton was assigned to Camp David as a bodyguard to President Ronald Reagan.

'Not too many people can say they had that kind of job,” Morton said.

In fact, Morton has a picture in his office of himself with President Reagan and his wife Nancy. He said Reagan would stop to see the Marines and Navy personnel and have a meal with them. Every Christmas, they had pictures taken with the Marines as a kind of Christmas present, Morton recalls.

While in the Marines, Morton joined the fire department in Greenbelt, Md., as a volunteer. Later, he got a job with the Greenbelt Police Department as a patrol officer. But that's not the turn in his career he was expecting.

'I wanted to stay being a fireman. People love firemen. They don't love cops,” he joked.

Morton said being a police officer in Greenbelt was more stressful than being a firefighter. When he needed to eat in his car, he would back it up to a wall so he could see anyone who might approach him.

'I had to have my head on a swivel,” he said. 'It was much more stressful than Jefferson County, by far.”

Morton met his wife, Luann, and the two married in 1988. They decided Greenbelt was not the best place to raise a family, so they moved back to Fairfield in October 1989. The Mortons had two sons, Nicholas and Patrick. Patrick died at age 13. Nicholas is now 28 and a schoolteacher in Lima, Peru.

In his 30-plus years in law enforcement, Morton said one of the biggest changes is how people with mental health problems are dealt with. There are now programs to help people with mental health challenges so they don't keep ending up in jail.

What does retirement hold for Morton?

Within days of pinning the sheriff's badge on Richmond, Morton and his wife will move out of town. They're going to the Outer Banks of North Carolina. Morton is 57, so he said he's too young to retire altogether, although he does want a job outside of law enforcement. He might join a volunteer fire department like he did in Greenbelt.

'I've got to find something to do to keep busy,” he said. 'I love everybody here in Fairfield. They've been so kind to me and to the office, but after 34 years, I need a brain break.”