Henry Jorden Willeford
Reserve Deputy Sheriff

Henry Jorden Willeford

Accident
End of Watch November 16, 2009
Age 75
Tour of Duty 55 yrs
The Vigil Panel 158 ›
Gender Male

Incident

Reserve Deputy Henry Willeford succumbed to injuries sustained seven years earlier when he was struck by a vehicle.

He was en route home at the end of his shift when he encountered a deer carcass blocking a lane of traffic. He activated his vehicle's emergency equipment and attempted to remove the deer. As he did so he was struck by an oncoming vehicle and sustained serious injuries.

He remained bedridden until succumbing to his injuries on November 16, 2009.

Deputy Willeford had served in law enforcement for 55 years.

Survivors

He is survived by his wife and 15 children.

In Our Keeping

Permanent identifier
BO-US-AR-27C8F3EE
Stewardship
Maintained by NeuraWeb Global Inc.
Added to badge.nw
April 2, 2026
Last updated
July 23, 2026

Honored here by 1 sentinel - 1 tribute.

Are you family? This record can be claimed and maintained by those who knew Henry. Claim this record.

This page is permanent and free. No fee to view it, no advertising, no tracking, and no account required. It will not be taken down.

Tributes

55 years. You could have gone home.
Reserve Deputy Sheriff Willeford gave the Van Buren County Sheriff's Office 55 years. Still answering calls at the end.
Thank you for your service to the Clinton community. Gone but never to be forgotten.
Rest easy, Reserve Deputy Sheriff Willeford.

— S. Vincent Anthony, U.S. Army 1985-1993

Agency

Location Clinton, AR
Platform Identity vbcso.vanburen.ar.us.gov.nw

Service Record

End of Watch November 16, 2009
Tour of Duty 55 yrs
Age 75
Gender Male

Incident Details

Cause Accident
Cause Detail Struck by vehicle

Reserve Deputy Sheriff Henry Jorden Willeford is one of 10,088 officers lost to accidents in the line of duty across the full record of this memorial — 31% of all 32,508 officers honored here.

In AR, 92 of 372 officers were lost to accidents in the line of duty — 24.7% of this state's fallen. That is 6.3 percentage points below the national rate of 31%.

Van Buren County Sheriff's Dept.
1
of 1 officers
100% Accident
AR — Statewide
92
of 372 officers
24.7% Accident
Nationwide
10,088
of 32,508 officers
31% Accident

National Cause Distribution

How Accident compares to all causes of officer death in the memorial record. Henry Jorden Willeford's cause is highlighted.

Felonious
17,623 (54.2%)
Accident
10,088 (31%)
Illness
2,974 (9.1%)
Cardiac
1,306 (4%)
Undetermined
260 (0.8%)
Suicide
256 (0.8%)
vehicular
1 (0%)

How Henry Jorden Willeford Compares

Age at End of Watch
75
This officer
Avg for Accident: 38.1 years
Years of Service
55
This officer
Avg for Accident: 9.1 years

When Accident Deaths Occur

Monthly distribution of Accident deaths across the full memorial record. Henry Jorden Willeford is highlighted in Nov.

Jan
820
Feb
730
Mar
748
Apr
707
May
847
Jun
795
Jul
897
Aug
937
Sep
913
Oct
925
Nov
872
Dec
897