Philip Street, a former Dade County sheriff and lifelong law enforcement officer, died Saturday after battling COVID-19.
Street, 66, died at a hospital in Chattanooga, Tennessee, which is a short distance from his northwest Georgia community. Street spent several years leading the Dade County Sheriff’s Office. For the last seven years, he served as a captain at the Walker County Sheriff’s Office’s detention facility. Walker County Sheriff Steve Wilson paid tribute to Street after his death.
“I am saddened and grief stricken today as I announce the passing of my friend, Philip Street, (Ret.) Dade County, Georgia Sheriff and current Walker County Sheriff’s Office Captain of the Detention Facility. Philip passed away last evening in a Chattanooga, TN hospital due to Covid-19 complications,” he wrote on his Facebook on Sunday. “Our friendship spanned thirty-five years, dating to the time as parents we met in lamaze classes at East Ridge, TN hospital.”
Gov. Brian Kemp shared his condolences about Street’s passing Tuesday via his Twitter page.
“Marty, the girls, and I are praying for the loved ones of Sheriff Philip Street, who passed away this weekend after a battle with COVID-19. We are grateful for his service to Dade County, and we join all Georgians in mourning this loss.”
Street’s diagnosis took family and friends by surprise, because he had been taking all the necessary precautions, his friend April Riddle told NBC affiliate WRCB.
“We woke up the morning that he had passed away, the night before, I was never so shocked because I was just hoping he was going to get better,” Riddle told the news station.
Wilson said his illness had been like a roller coaster ride because the initial prognosis was grim but a later one led to optimism that the Dade County native would get better.
“We had some bad news initially, then better news, then kind of a punch in the gut,” Wilson said.
The husband and father was a lifelong resident of Dade County, where he attended school and graduated in 1973. He managed the family business, Street Hardware, before he became sheriff, according to his obituary. He was elected five times as sheriff, making him one of the two longest-serving sheriffs for Dade County.
Though he spent his life fighting crime, Street was not as tough as his job and exterior would lead on, Wilson said.
“Philip was a big teddy bear. He came across as rough, but he had a loving heart,” he said.
Survivors include his wife, Sherry Lake Street; daughter Jordan (Dustin) Powell; stepson Corey Cresswell; mother Elizabeth Wallen Street; sisters Donna Street and Kate (Michael) Cammack; brother Tracy Street; and niece Caroline Cammack. There are a host of much-loved cousins and relatives.
Funeral services will be outdoors from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. Wednesday in front of the Dade County Justice Building next to the old Dade County Courthouse. Moore Funeral Home is handling the arrangements.
Wilson said he believes his friend would encourage others to take heed of the protocols for the virus if he were still here.
“If he were here, he would tell everyone to wear their mask, wash their hands and social distance,” said Wilson. “It just shows how serious this virus is.”
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