Flags are flying at half-staff in Walton County as the community prepares for two funerals

The flag over Monroe City Hall has been lowered and it will stay that way until May 9, said Monroe Mayor John Howard. The flag will fly at half-staff in honor of Judge Marvin Sorrells who passed away Saturday at the age of 82.

Flags all around Walton County were already lowered in honor of Maj. Ethaniel Rakestraw of the Walton County Sheriff’s Office. It will be a somber week in Walton County with the community says goodbye to both of these men who each in their own way contributed so much to the community.

“Judge Sorrells was a great man, from a great family, who did so much for this community. He stood in as sheriff while he was still at law school when his father died ” Howard said. “There are not a lot of people in the history of Monroe who contributed so much to the community that was positive as he did.”

When his father, Sheriff C.J. “Doc” Sorrells was killed in the line of duty in 1962, Sorrells filled in and served as sheriff for a time.

According to the plaque on his portrait that hangs in Superior Court No. 4 in the Walton County Courthouse, Sorrels was the Juvenile Judge from 1973 to 1988 and Superior Court Judge from 1988 to 2004. Although retired, up until his death on April 27, 2019, the judge retained an office in the courthouse in Monroe.

Funeral arrangements for Judge Marvin Sorrells

There was a steady flow of mourners at the Walton County Government Building Monday as people came to pay their respects to Maj. Rakeshaw as he lay in state in the Commissioner’s Board Room at the Government Buildings in Monroe. Hundreds of comments are posted on the death notice on the Walton County Sheriff’s Office with people sharing their fond memories of the man who had served the community with dignity and pride for more than 40 years. The respect shown to his memory since his passing on April 25, 2019, is a testament to his standing in the community.

Funeral arrangements for Maj. Ethaniel Rakestraw