NATCHEZ — After decades of protecting and shaping his community, both in and out of uniform, Elijah Johnson died Tuesday at the age of 87.

Johnson, also known as “Eli,” “E” and “Bruh,” was born in Adams County in 1928. He made history when he became Adams County’s first black sheriff’s deputy since Reconstruction in 1968.

Adams County Sheriff’s Office Sgt. Cal Green said Johnson served for approximately 24 years before retiring in 1992.

As the only black female deputy at the office, Green said Johnson’s employment made it possible for her to be there. He had already retired by the time she joined, but she grew up knowing him.

“If you were doing wrong and he caught you, you knew Mr. Eli was going to get after you,” Green said.

At the same time, District 1 Supervisor Mike Lazarus said Johnson preferred to reason with people.

“He’d rather send you home than send you to jail,” Lazarus said.

But that didn’t always work.

“If it ever came down to a physical thing, he was always the best one to have with you,” Sheriff Chuck Mayfield said.

When he first started at the ACSO, Mayfield worked on shift with Johnson.

“He was chief deputy at that time,” Mayfield said. “I just kind of looked up to him.”

Mayfield said he would always go to Johnson if he had any questions.

“He never seemed aggravated that you were asking these stupid questions,” Mayfield said. “He was always there for me.”

Johnson’s daughter, Paulette Montgomery, said he was a family man, but not just for relatives.

“He was a family man for everybody,” Montgomery said.

And Johnson had many relatives, having grown up with seven siblings and raised eight children.

“He was an outgoing person,” his niece Laura Smith said. “He loved family.”

Montgomery said when they misbehaved he’d never hit them. Instead, Johnson had a unique punishment — taking them for a ride in his police car to the jail.

They’d never go in, but Montgomery said it was scary enough to be in the car.

“We knew we’d better be good, or we were going for a ride,” Montgomery said.

But Johnson had another passion outside of family and policing, his involvement with the Mississippi Cattlemen’s Association (MCA).

David Carter, county supervisor and county extension agent, said Johnson was a member of the MCA for more than 40 years.

For decades, Carter said Johnson would hold a rodeo for children near his home. Montgomery remembers the events, as well as the homemade hamburgers and barbecue goat sandwiches served there.

“I miss those days,” Montgomery said. “We all miss those days.”

Green said Johnson taught many children how to ride horses and take care of cows.

“I think that he mentored every kid that ever spent any time around him,” Green said. “If you had the desire to learn, he would teach you.”

One of the people he mentored was Green’s nephew.

“He was a huge part of getting my nephew into the whole rodeo business,” Green said. “And, 20 years later, my nephew is still roping.”

Those who knew him said Johnson was a person to whom it was easy to talk.

“Didn’t matter what job you had or how much money you had, you could sit down and have a conversation with him,” Carter said. “Not a lot of people are like that.”

Some of Carter’s favorite memories are when Johnson would come into the extension service office and talk to him about horses.

“He could sit and talk about horses and cows for hours at a time,” Carter said.

Montgomery said she will miss her father, and she’s not the only one.

“He’s a person who will be deeply missed in many areas of Adams County,” Carter said.

Johnson’s funeral will be 2 pm. today at Forest Aid Baptist Church. Burial will follow at Carthage Point Cemetery.