Capt. Glenn E. Billingsley was known for being firm but fair with everyone, from jail staff to inmates.

It was those qualities that helped Billingsley rise through the ranks at the Roanoke Sheriff's Office to become the jail's first black watch commander and captain of a division, those close to him said.

Billingsley was laid to rest Tuesday. He was 55 when he died May 7. The sheriff's office declined to comment on his cause of death.

Billingsley joined the sheriff's office in 1978, said Patricia Johnson, an office spokeswoman.

In 1995, he was promoted to watch commander, supervising a shift of 30 deputies, Johnson said.

Five years later, he was promoted to captain of the jail division.

At the time of his death, Billingsley was a commander over the services division.

As head of that division, Billingsley oversaw numerous aspects of the jail, including inmate counseling, the library program, the GED program, special education, recreation and medical services.

In the past several years, he worked with several city neighborhood organizations to provide them with inmates who would pick up litter, plant flowers or weed public gardens.

"The neighborhood is truly going to miss him," said Robin Murphy-Bell, president of the Edgewood-Morwanda-Summit Hills Neighborhood Organization.

The Roanoke branch of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People recognized Billingsley's work in the community and in the sheriff's office by awarding him in 2006 with the Citizen of the Year Award.

His accomplishments "speak a lot about him as an African-American man," said Daniel Hale, president of the Roanoke branch.

He recalled that while taking tours of the jail with Billingsley, the inmates always regarded the captain with respect.

"It's the things that you see when people aren't speaking, the way people react to someone when they're not looking, that tell me what a great man he was," Hale said.

Hale said that when he mentioned that to Billingsley after one tour, Billingsley replied, "If you live right, those things just happen."

Deputy Donna St. Clair said she believes Billingsley held himself to a higher standard than others because he wanted to prove himself as a black supervisor.

"Everyone knew that when [his] shift was on, things were going to get done," she said.