I'm not sure I ever met anybody who didn't like him as a person and the way he did his job. He was willing to go the extra mile to find people and to do things. – Box Elder County Commissioner Stan Summers
BRIGHAM CITY — Box Elder County Sheriff Lynn Yeates, who was sworn into office Monday to begin his third term, died Tuesday morning reportedly of a heart attack.
Yeates, 68, who became sheriff in 2007, was found dead at his home, according to county officials. His body was found after he failed to show up for work.
"I really think that it's really going to be tough on a community that rallies around people," said Box Elder County Commissioner Stan Summers, a lifelong friend of Yeates.
Yeates was hired by the Box Elder County Sheriff's Office in 1975 as a crime lab technician. According to his biography on his Facebook page, he worked his way through the ranks as a patrol officer, detective, sergeant, jail commander, chief deputy and then sheriff.
Yeates was also a certified EMT and taught classes on first aid and CPR, as well as neighborhood watch and disaster planning. He ran the ambulance service for many of the rural areas of the county.
Summers said Yeates was a man who cared about his job, about people and commanded the respect of nearly the entire community.
"I'm not sure I ever met anybody who didn't like him as a person and the way he did his job. He was willing to go the extra mile to find people and to do things," he said.
Yeates' wife, Lynda Nelson Yeates, died on Nov. 5 from a cancerous brain tumor. She was 72.
Lynn Yeates is survived by four children, seven grandchildren and four great-grandchildren.
Many people wrote condolence messages Tuesday on the Box Elder Communication Center's Facebook page.
"I learned so much from you. Prayers to your family. You will be missed more than words can express! Godspeed, my friend," wrote one person.
"Lynn Yeates was one of the finest men I have ever met. Rest in peace, good friend," wrote another.
Another wrote, "A wonderful man that did so much for our community. He will be missed! What a wonderful reunion with his sweet wife Lynda. Prayers and love to his family."
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