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Rockbridge County Sheriff Steve Funkhouser has announced that he will be retiring Jan. 1.
“After 29 years with the Sheriff’s Office, I have decided to move on to other things and enjoy more time with my family,” he said this week. “I appreciate my time with the Sheriff’s Office and the support I’ve enjoyed from the community and my family. I am thankful for the opportunities provided to me from Sheriffs Day and Blalock.
“My staff over the past five years has proven to be among the best and has worked tirelessly to provide a safe community,” he continued. “Leaving a dedicated staff was a very hard decision to make.
“I have provided a professional and courteous office to serve this wonderful community and I’m excited for the opportunity to enjoy retirement,” he concluded.
The next sheriff in the immediate future will be Tony McFaddin, currently the chief deputy. He will
, page B13 be sworn in as sheriff upon Funkhouser’s retirement. A special election will then be set to determine who will fill out the remainder of his term. Funkhouser is completing the first year of his second term, which he was elected to last fall as an unopposed candidate.
Funkhouser began as a reserve deputy in the Rockbridge County Sheriff’s Office in January 1996, rising to the role of patrolman in July of the same year. Shortly thereafter, he became an investigator for the Sheriff’s Office in 1998, a role he fulfilled until 2012 when he was promoted to lieutenant and chief of patrol.
A lifelong Rockbridge County resident, he graduated from Natural Bridge High School in 1987. He retired from the Virginia Army National Guard in 2017 with over 28 years of service and the rank of major.
