WASHINGTON, la. (KLFY) -- The town of Washington is honoring the life and legacy of John Offord, a dedicated police officer who served the community for 41 years.

Offord began his career with the Washington Police Department in 1970 and quickly rose through the ranks, becoming Assistant Chief in 1974 and later serving as Chief of Police from 1994 until his retirement in 2011.

"If you look in the dictionary for a kind, generous serving person, you'd see John Offord's picture there," said Mayor Dwight Landreneau, who has known Offord since high school.

Washington Chief of Police William Worthy remarked on Offord's dedication and handwork.

"40 great years of this town. He loved every person in this town." Worthy said.

Mayor Landreneau praised Offord's unwavering commitment to the community, noting that

"You see John, early in the morning, he'd do a bus route, and I remember him driving a bus to Opelousas Catholic, come back in that bus, get another bus and go to another school, drop kids off." Landreneau said.

Offord's legacy of kindness and service is something Landreneau hopes will inspire future generations.

"I wish people would use John as an example of how to live, how to treat people, and how to serve the public," Landreneau said.

Funeral services for John Offord will be held at Greater Shiloh Baptist Church on November 1st at 11 AM, where the community will gather to pay their respects to a man who left a lasting impact on Washington.

All facts in this report were gathered by journalists employed by KLFY. Artificial intelligence tools were used to reformat from a broadcast script into a news article for our website. This report was edited and fact-checked by KLFY staff before being published.

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