MHP family mourns after trooper dies of apparent heart attack

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The Mississippi Highway Patrol family is mourning the untimely loss of one of its own after a trooper died this morning of an apparent heart attack.

Trooper First Class Willie Triplett, who was assigned to Meridian’s Troop H, was 44 years old. His fellow troopers remember him as devoted, honest, and sincere.

“As a member of the Mississippi Highway Patrol family, it breaks my heart to hear news like this,” said Lt. Gayle McMullen, president of the Mississippi State Troopers Association. “He will be greatly missed as a protector of this state and even more so as a person. He was a caring, hard working, and compassionate Trooper.”

Triplett’s father was a trooper before him, friends of the family said. He worked a second job at a grocery store, friends said, and it was there that he reportedly suffered the suspected heart attack Sunday morning.

Sgt. Andy West said Triplett’s loss will be felt on many levels by many people.

“We’re going to be mourning the loss of a close friend and brother, and a colleague, and a fellow officer,” he said. “I’d also like to add that the entire state of Mississippi has lost a good officer and trooper.”

Classmates on a Facebook page for the Neshoba Central High School Class of 1989 remembered him as a “very sweet and humble guy.” Other posts on social media mourned his loss as well, speaking of his kindness.

“He was such a likable person,” wrote Sharon Waddell Lewis. “Always treated everyone with respect.”

Triplett’s loss is felt throughout the state, other troopers said.

“We are one of the tightest groups of men and women you can have within a department, we stick together through thick and thin and take care of our brothers and sisters in blue and their respective families in a time of need,” said Cpl. Jamie Puckett of Jackson’s Troop C. “Mississippi as a whole has some of the best law enforcement in the entire country and when something happens to anyone who wears the badge we all come together and support each other no matter what kind of uniform we wear.”

Even in the heartbreak, though, Triplett’s fellow troopers expressed gratitude for his life and hope for his legacy.

“I know he is in a better place and we all should look forward to the day we can join him,” said McMullin. “On behalf of myself and the Mississippi State Troopers Association, we are keeping his family and friends in our hearts, thoughts, and prayers. God bless us all.”

“It’s not a goodbye, it’s, ‘We will see you later, brother,'” Puckett said.

Contact Therese Apel at tapel@gannett.com. Follow @TRex21 on Twitter.

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