BILLINGS - After a three-year battle with cancer, friends and family of Yellowstone County Sheriff Chuck Maxwell meet at the expo center at MetraPark to say goodbye.

Hundreds listened and remembered as longtime law enforcement official and Yellowstone County Sheriff Chuck Maxwell was laid to rest. "His skills, personality, and demeanor set him apart as truly one of the great ones of our profession," said Yellowstone County Sheriff's Department Captain Dennis McCave.

Maxwell started fighting crime 45 years ago and was a member of the Yellowstone County Sheriff's Department for more than 30 of those years. "Chuck had away about him that he could put people at ease in crisis situations," said Yellowstone County Undersheriff Jay Bell.

The sheriff's peers describe him as an altruistic man full of character and say they'll never forget how quick he was with the one-liners, "This woman stands up and says Sheriff I've got a question. I heard this woman came from Lockwood, how did they get rid of her. The sheriff stood up and said I believe they built her a house in Laurel," said Bell.

The 67-year-old law enforcement leader served as the county's sheriff since 1993, when the Yellowstone County Commissioners appointed him to take over the department after former Sheriff Terry Schaffer lost his battle with cancer.

“I'm going to miss the man I will always refer to as my favorite sheriff and for one last time my friend I salute you," said Bell.

Sheriff Maxwell was a husband, a leader and a life long public servant with a legacy that's sure to carry on many years after his passing.