Coroner: Massive heart attack killed Chaffee lawman

CHAFFEE, Mo. -- The police chief of this small Scott County town died unexpectedly early Monday from an apparent heart attack.

Jeff Womack, 53, of Chaffee was pronounced dead Monday morning at Southeast Missouri Hospital in Cape Girardeau.

"From all indications, he died from a massive heart attack," said close friend and Cape Girardeau Coroner John Clifton. No inquest or autopsy would be conducted.

Womack, who had been Chaffee's police chief for more than two years, did not have any known heart conditions.

"It was very much a shock to all of us," Clifton said of the death.

Womack had just returned Sunday from a two-week vacation visiting his son and grandchildren in North Carolina, Chaffee's interim police chief Marty Keys said.

Keys oversaw the police department while Womack was on vacation and was appointed interim chief until a new chief is hired, Chaffee Mayor Bill Cannon said.

Womack reorganized the police department after the departure of one chief and one interim chief by delegating responsibility to various officers, something the former chief had not done.

Despite the spreading of duties, Womack also had a hand in regular policing duties such as patrolling, Keys said.

"He liked to answer some calls himself personally," Keys said.

Womack, who lived about a block away from the police station, walked to work shortly after 5 a.m., patrolman Jim Backfisch said. The two would drink coffee, catch up on the previous shift and watch the news before Womack headed out to local businesses to visit or address complaints.

'Loved the people'

"I called it his political time," Backfisch said with a laugh. "He loved the people."

Sometimes Womack would even take his terrier, Wesley, on patrol with him or let him sit up on his desk, Keys said.

Clifton described Womack as laid back, as a man who saw his job as chief as a "kind of fun thing for him to do."

Keys agreed, saying Womack rarely had cross words to say to someone and usually laughed off mistakes.

Womack was less concerned with how many arrests were made or tickets handed out, and more focused on finding the best solutions, according to Keys.

"His philosophy was 'Solve the problem,'" Keys said.

Womack enjoyed model trains and boating and visited Kentucky Lake, Clifton said. In Womack's office, Keys pointed out a collection of law enforcement badges and shields the chief had acquired, some of them from departments he served.

Before taking the police chief position, Womack worked in the Missouri State Highway Patrol, retiring as a sergeant after 25 years. For two years, he also worked at the Jackson Police Department and served in the Air Force for four years.

Womack is survived by a son, two daughters and his wife, Marva.

Visitation was scheduled from 5 to 8 p.m. today at Watkins and Sons Funeral Home in Parma, Mo. Graveside services would be held at the Missouri County Veterans Cemetery in Bloomfield, Mo., at 10 a.m. Wednesday.

kmorrison@semissourian.com

335-6611, extension 127