LEONARDTOWN, Md. – The community gathered together to honor and pay tribute to the late Sheriff Joseph Lee “Joe Lee” Somerville Sr. Sheriff Somerville Sr. , who passed away on April 1, 2021, at the age of 81.
Sheriff Joseph Lee Somerville Sr., Maryland’s first Black Sheriff, was escorted to Charles Memorial Gardens in Leonardtown for his final resting place on Saturday, April 10, 2021.
The men and women of the St. Mary’s County Sheriff’s Office escorted former Sheriff Joseph Lee Somerville Sr. on Saturday to his final resting place, accompanied by the Charles County Sheriff’s Office, Calvert County Sheriff’s Office and many other emergency first responders in St. Mary’s County as well as other jurisdictions.
Somerville was the first black deputy in St. Mary’s County when he joined the Sheriff’s Office in 1966 and became Maryland’s first black Sheriff in 1977 when he was appointed to finish the remaining term of his predecessor Sheriff Sanger. Sheriff Somerville then went on to win election as the county’s top law enforcement official in 1978 for a four-year term.
The funeral procession of former Sheriff Joseph Lee Somerville Sr. headed into St. Joseph’s Church in Morganza in the photo above.
Citizens expressing their thanks.
Captain Steven Hall and the Sheriff’s Office Color Guard
The Color Guard escorting Sheriff Somerville’s casket into St. Joseph’s
Thank you Joe Lee for your service. Rest in Peace, Sheriff Somerville.
Photos courtesy of the St. Mary’s County Sheriff’s Office
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