The Putnam County Sheriff’s Office is mourning the loss of the agency’s first Black deputy constable and a Welaka councilman, who passed away Wednesday. “We are saddened to announce the passing of Welaka Town Councilman Willie Washington last night,” the Sheriff’s Office said in a Facebook post on Thursday. Washington, a Putnam County native, broke barriers with his election in the late 1960s to the Welaka Town Council, though segregation laws kept him from being sworn in at town hall. He became the county’s first Black deputy, rising to the rank of corporal, before going on to become the Welaka police chief in 1996, a role he held for four years. In a prepared statement, sitting Putnam County Sheriff Homer “Gator” DeLoach described Washington as a “consummate gentleman,” whose loss will be felt by the entire Putnam County community.