A longtime and popular Kentucky State Police Post 4 dispatcher has died unexpectedly.
Chuck Stewart, of Elizabethtown, who served as a dispatcher for over 33 years, nearly 20 years with Kentucky State Police Post 4 in Elizabethtown, collapsed on Saturday while on duty and died on Sunday.
Stewart, besides working as a dispatcher, was a key person in KSP’s Shop with a Trooper Christmas gift program. He also worked as a volunteer firefighter with the Central Hardin Fire Department and as an emergency medical technician (EMT) with Hardin County Emergency Services.
The impact Stewart had on Kentucky State Police and the Hardin County community becomes keenly apparent when reading the many tributes his untimely death inspired.
“Words cannot describe the shock and sadness we feel at KSP. And not just here at Post 4 but across the entire commonwealth,” KSP Post 4 spokesman Scotty Sharp said in a social media post. “Everyone within our agency had met or at least heard of Chuck because of all the special details he had worked over the years. He was a fixture of the state fair, his social media postings … or his updated road conditions always had us laughing until it hurt. He was the heart and soul behind Post 4’s Shop with a Trooper. Over the years he touched the lives of thousands of children in helping make their Christmas special … Rest easy my friend, we will take it from here.”
Stewart, who began dispatching for KSP Post 4 in 2003, was recognized as a top civilian Kentucky State Police employee in 2010. He was nominated for the award by his supervisor because of his immense professionalism and for his work with Post 4’s Shop with a Trooper program.
“Chuck is the one who solicits for donations and coordinates with the Walmart stores, as well as finds needy families that we can help to provide them with a nicer Christmas,” his supervisor said.
The Elizabethtown Police Department felt the loss of Stewart, and posted a heartfelt remembrance on social media.
“A terrible void has been created by the passing of KSP Post 4 Dispatcher Chuck Stewart. During his constructive life, Chuck assumed many roles. He was a loving father and grandfather, a chauffeur, a firefighter/EMT, a telecommunicator, and to all who knew him, he was a loyal friend. In addition to having a passion for service, Chuck loved music, was an Andy Griffith Show aficionado, and was a jokester. Though absent from the earth, Chuck left us with memories we will cherish for a lifetime. Well done, good and faithful servant.”
(Photo: Chuck Stewart, courtesy of Trooper Scotty Sharp’s Facebook page)
By Ken Howlett, News Director
Contact Ken at ken@k105.com
