From Spotsylvania County Government:
Spotsylvania is deeply saddened to report the passing of one of our own, Vice Chairman of the County’s Board of Supervisors, Barry K. Jett, who represented the Livingston District for nearly two years. Mr. Jett, 61, passed away October 29, 2021, at University of Virginia Medical Center in Charlottesville following a brief illness. We would like to extend our heartfelt condolences to family, friends and constituents of Mr. Jett and are eternally grateful for his many years of dedicated service to Spotsylvania County.
Mr. Jett devoted much of his life to serving the public–first as a career law enforcement officer and then representing the Livingston District when he was elected to the Board of Supervisors in November 2019. He was sworn into office December 17, 2019, during a ceremony at the Historic Spotsylvania County Courthouse. His term officially began January 1, 2020, and he was elected to serve a one-year term as vice chairman of the board January 12, 2021.
“Barry’s passing is an incredibly devastating loss not only for this board, but for the entire county,” said Berkeley Supervisor Kevin Marshall, Chairman of the Spotsylvania County Board of Supervisors. “He was deeply devoted to his constituents and so focused on serving others in an effort to help bring about change. We both shared the same passion for bringing broadband to rural areas in our districts, constantly looking for ways to help make that happen. Barry truly cared about human beings and was able to put politics aside and put people first. That’s a quality very difficult to find in this world.”
Mr. Jett was very passionate about helping those he represented and was so committed to public service, that he was known to assist county residents with issues who resided outside of his own district. It was not uncommon for Mr. Jett to express his gratitude to county staff and publicly acknowledge them by name for their efforts during board meetings, having been a county employee himself for well over 20 years.
The Spotsylvania native spent his entire life on the same farm on which he was raised. He graduated from Spotsylvania High School and attended Germanna Community College with studies concentrated in police science. Mr. Jett began working at the Ames G.C. Murphy Warehouse in Spotsylvania shortly after high school graduation and continued working there until it closed. He decided to make a career change in 1992 when he went to work at the Spotsylvania County Sheriff’s Office under the direction of Sheriff T.C. Waddy. Mr. Jett retired from the Sheriff’s Office on January 1, 2016, with the rank of lieutenant. He was the proud father of three children, two grown and one, a senior at Spotsylvania High School. Funeral arrangements for Mr. Jett are incomplete at this time.
