The Penobscot County deputy sheriff who died Sunday while snowmobiling had an infectious laugh and brought a genuine concern for community members to his work, according to those who worked with him.
“I’m sitting here looking at his office right now and it is just a black hole without him in it,” Hermon Fire Chief Frank Roma said Monday.
Bobbie Pelletier died as the result of a snowmobile crash in Limestone, Penobscot County Sheriff Troy Morton said Sunday in a Facebook post. Pelletier had served with the Penobscot County Sheriff’s Office since 2008 and supervised the agency’s policing in Hermon for 6 1/2 years. He was promoted to the rank of corporal in 2015 and staff sergeant the following year.
Pelletier was kind, respectful and professional in his role and truly cared about the community he served, Roma said. His office in the Hermon Public Safety Building was just across the hall from Roma’s, and Pelletier would drop by every morning just to say hi, the fire chief said.
“In addition to his kindness and caring, he was incredibly professional, incredibly competent, and the hole that he has left among us, his fellow emergency service workers as well as the community, is immeasurable,” Roma said.
Pelletier also had an infectious laugh.
“What sticks out in my mind are the day-to-day things that I think we take for granted until we are in a situation like this,” Roma said. “His laugh, he just had a great laugh. He had the type of laugh that when he was laughing, you’d start laughing, and you wouldn’t even necessarily know what he was laughing about.”
Hermon Town Council Chair Steven Thomas described the loss of Pelletier as “huge.”
“I don’t think the town is going to be able to replace him. He was just always there,” said Thomas, whose seven years on the town council have overlapped with Pelletier’s time in the town. “When you think about the sheriff’s office in Hermon, you think of Bobbie Pelletier.”
Before joining the Penobscot County Sheriff’s Office, Pelletier worked for the police departments in Veazie and Old Town.
Old Town Deputy Police Chief Lee Miller said Pelletier always had a smile on his face and was a kind person.
Pelletier attended the Maine Criminal Justice Academy as a recruit from Veazie in 1999, said Mark Leonard, Veazie’s town manager and police chief.
Pelletier received commendations at the academy for his appearance, attention to detail, leadership, dependability and dedication that carried into his work in Veazie, Leonard said.
“I fondly remember Bobbie’s smile and laughter,” he said. “Our thoughts and prayers are with his wife, child and family as they deal with this tragic event. His presence will be missed but not forgotten.”
Thomas said he will remember Pelletier’s care for the community he served.
“He was a fantastic guy to work with,” he said. “He had a genuine concern for the residents of Hermon. He was always willing to lend a hand and help people, whether he was on duty or not. He just always had a smile on his face.”
In a statement Sunday, Penobscot County Sheriff Troy Morton said Pelletier’s family, friends and colleagues will miss him.
Correction: A previous version of this article misstated the year Bobbie Pelletier began working in Veazie.