Sheriff William Thomas “Tom” John Ariss
(1936-2024)
Tom was born May 24, 1936 in Akron to John Samuel and Agatha Josephine (Mooney) Ariss. He graduated from St. Vincent High School. His father died in 1955, and his mother moved the family south to Cincinnati. For a time, Tom stayed in Akron and attended the University of Akron.
Tom joined the United States Army. After his enlistment was up, he joined the United Stated Naval Reserves and served into the 1960s.
In 1957, Tom joined the Ohio State Highway Patrol. He was transferred to the Lebanon Post in 1958. In 1965 and 1966, Patrolman Ariss was elected and reelected president of the Warren County lodge of the Fraternal Order of Police. By November 1979, he was promoted to Sergeant. In September 1986, he commanded the Lebanon Post. Otherwise, he was the Assistant Commander until his retirement in 1987.
Assistant Commander Ariss ran for Warren County Sheriff in 1987. He was not successful. He then joined the Springboro Police Department as a part time Police Officer in 1988; served as a fulltime instructor at the Scarlet Oaks Career Development Center; and as a Warren County Probation Officer and Bailiff.
In the Spring of 1991, Officer Ariss was appointed Warren County Sheriff to fill the term of the outgoing Sheriff Jim Collins. In 1992, appointed Sheriff Ariss won the election with almost 75% of the vote. With reelections, he served four terms until 2011, making him the longest serving sheriff in Warren County history to that point. He also served as President of the Buckeye State Sheriff’s Association in 2002.
Sheriff Ariss was then elected as one of three commissioners for Warren County. He additionally served as a board member of several public and private entities, including the Warren County Community Services Board, the Warren County Historical Society, and the Otterbein Lebanon Senior Life Community.
Sheriff Ariss died on October 4, 2024 in Lebanon at the age of 88.
Sheriff Ariss is survived by his wife, Bonnie (O’Kelly) Ariss; children, Patrick Michael (Dana) Ariss and Erin Michelle (Douglas) Hammon; grandchildren, Amanda (Harold) Shearer, Meghan (Garret Schappacher) Ariss, Rachael (Brice) Cavanaugh, Dylan (Casey Liptak) Hammon, Hannah Hammon and Craig Hammon; great-grandchildren, Finn, Miles, Elliot, and Landon; and brothers, Robert Ariss and James Ariss.
Visitation will be held 4 to 7 p.m. on Wednesday, October 9, 2024, at the Oswald-Hoskins Funeral Home in Lebanon. A Mass of Christian burial will be held at 10 a.m. on Thursday, October 10, 2024 at St. Francis DeSales Church. Interment will follow in Lebanon Cemetery. Memorials may be made to Ohio Hospice of Dayton, St. Francis DeSales Church, or the Warren County Community Services.
© 2024 – All rights reserved to LT Stephen R. Kramer RET and the Greater Cincinnati Police Museum