Sheriff James Howard Collier

James Howard Collier

Sheriff Jimmie Collier suffered a fatal heart attack as he and a deputy arrested two drunk men along Highway 231 approximately 1-1/2 miles south of the Whitesburg Bridge.

They were walking the two men back to their patrol car when Sheriff Collier suddenly collapsed. He was rushed to Huntsville Hospital where he was pronounced dead.

Sheriff Collier was finishing his first four-year term with the Morgan County Sheriff's Office and had been reelected to start a second term on January 1, 1959. He had previously served with the Decatur Police Department for approximately eight years. He was survived by his wife, four daughters, and son.