An off-duty sheriff’s deputy remembered as a true gentleman died Tuesday after complaining of shortness of breath at his home in Vicksburg.

Warren County Deputy Johnny Gatson was pronounced dead at River Region Medical Center. He was 58.

“He will be sadly missed by his sheriff’s office family, and his family will be in our prayers,” Sheriff Martin Pace said.

No foul play is suspected, Pace said.

Gatson had joined the sheriff’s department in August 2013 and was assigned to the patrol division, Pace said. He was a 1977 graduate of Alcorn State University and spent 15 years in the U.S. Marine Corps.

“During the year and a half he’s worked for us, I’ve received a number of compliments from the public on how much of a gentleman he was,” Pace said.

At about 4 p.m. Tuesday, Gatson was at home with his wife when he began complaining of shortness of breath. Gatson went to lie down, and within minutes was unresponsive, Pace said.

Gatson’s wife called 911, but paramedics were unable to revive the deputy.

After years of working in the private sector, Gatson started his law enforcement career relatively late in life as a part-time Simpson County deputy before joining the Canton Police Department in 2012.

“I really liked Johnny. He was a good guy,” said Allen Moore, a Ross Barnett Reservoir Patrol officer who went to the part-time officer’s training academy with Gatson in Simpson County.

During his tenure with Canton police, Gatson graduated from Mississippi Delta Law Enforcement Academy in Morehead.

An autopsy was scheduled for Wednesday.