By Nicole Hamilton
The Cincinnati Enquirer

What Jerry Wayne Goins learned as a corporal in the U.S. Marines, he remembered for the rest of his life.

"He was straightforward and honest. God and family were the most important things to him," said his son, Kyle Goins of Lexington. Mr. Goins, a retired deputy and detective for the Boone County Sheriff's Department, was a "true Marine," with a powerful work ethic and a love of physical fitness, his son said.

Jerry Goins died Friday at St. Luke Hospital in Florence. The Walton resident was 64.

A member of the Boone County Sheriff's Dept. for more than 25 years, Mr. Goins retired from the department in 1996, only to return about three years later to serve as a school resource officer at Boone County High School.

Born in Warsaw and raised in Erlanger, Mr. Goins graduated from Erlanger Lloyd High School in 1958. He joined the Marines in 1958 and was honorably discharged in 1964, as a corporal.

He then returned to Northern Kentucky, where he worked as a truck driver until starting his law-enforcement career in 1975. He was promoted to detective in Boone County in 1977.

Mr. Goins also was active as a Little League coach, a member of the First Baptist Church in Walton, Ky., and a member of the Fraternal Order of Police.

Besides his son, other survivors include his wife of 24 years, Connie Lawrence Goins of Walton; two daughters, Khara Suzanne Phelps and Katie Nichole Goins, both of Walton; and a brother, Jim Claxton of Green Cove Springs, Fla.

Visitation will be11 a.m.-1 p.m. Tuesday at First Baptist Church of Walton, 47 South Main, Walton, Ky. Service will follow. Burial will be in Walton Cemetery.

Memorials may be made to the Goins Children College Fund, c/o Bank of Kentucky.

E-mail nhamilton@enquirer.com