Don Sheline, left, was recently honored for his 45 years as an Indiana Sate Police chaplain. Shown with Sheline are Chaplain Daniel Coffey, Indianapolis; and Lt. Chad Larsh, Bremen District commander. Sheline was presented with a certificate of appreciation and a pin.

By Lauren Zeugner
InkFreeNews

GOSHEN — Don Sheline has lived a life of service, assisting many in northern Kosciusko County and Elkhart County. Recently he was honored for 45 years of service as a chaplain for the Indiana State Police.

Sheline farmed 220 acres on his family farm, located on US 6 in Elkhart County. He was pastor of the Solomon Creek United Methodist Church near Syracuse for nine years and served as an associate chaplain at Calvary United Methodist Church for four years.

Along with serving the ISP as a chaplain, he was chaplain and safety officer for the Elkhart County Sheriff’s Department for 32 years. Sheline explained as safety officer his job was, “I was in charge of (investigating) accidents with county vehicles.”

He also investigated any lawsuits filed against the sheriff’s department. “We were always being sued by someone,” Sheline said. “The inmates would sue us for not having the right kind of food.” His job was to investigate the complaint and turn his findings over to the county attorney.

When he was offered the chaplain’s job at the sheriff’s department, Sheline asked what the job would entail. He was told he would be assisting with accident notifications and helping in the office.

“The divorce rate among law enforcement is 82 percent,” he said. Sheline would meet with the officers and counsel them. “Nowadays it’s almost a thing of the past,” he said. “With all the cameras, guys don’t want to open up in the cars like they used to.”

While he pastored at local churches, he farmed on the side, saying he planted more corn in the dark than the daylight. When he decided to retire from farming, he sold the land to his son and he and his wife, Carolyn, moved into a condo at Lake Wawasee in Syracuse. The couple also wintered in a retirement village in Fort Myers, Fla., for 24 years.

In addition to serving as chaplain for the Elkhart County Sheriff’s Department and Indiana State Police, Sheline also served on the Benton Township Advisory Board and served as Benton Township Trustee.

He said his favorite job as a pastor and police chaplain was helping people. “I was never aggressive on patrol … I always tried to treat people the way I wanted to be treated.”

He has officiated at officers weddings. He even officiated at his mother’s wedding when she remarried after his father’s death.

In 2006 he served as chaplain for the Renaissance Hotel Chain. He and Carolyn spent 108 days on a cruise ship. He took 150 police patches with him and traded them for patches from other departments at the cruise ship’s ports of call. “The only place that wouldn’t swap patches was Dubai. And they wouldn’t let me take pictures (of the officers with their cars).”

An avid painter, he taught pen and pencil and watercolor classes. He was told he needed to bring his own supplies and the cruise line would reimburse him. He was told to expect about six people to show up. That first class, 23 showed up.

He remained in touch with those who took the class until a few months ago when the last one died.