Keith Polick of Jefferson Hills remembered as someone who wanted to make a difference

Keith Polick was known for bringing people together.

The Jefferson Hills resident had plans to do just that for borough this year as he and several other Republicans were recently sworn in to four-year seats on council.

This past election was Polick’s first time running for political office. He was the top vote-getter in November and was appointed council president Jan. 3.

“There are many people that are out there that should run, and they won’t run, but he did,” said Dave Montgomery, council vice president and longtime friend of Polick. “He was an extremely accomplished individual. He was a very kind person. I’ve known him for years and I was honored that he wanted to run with me.

“He never ran for anything before in his life, and he came in first. That speaks volumes, I think. That doesn’t happen too often.”

Polick, a sales service manager for Minteq, a company that services the steel industry, had planned a vacation in Florida with his wife, Sue, to help kick off the new year.

Relatives said he was traveling through Fayetteville, W.Va., on his way to Key West on Jan. 12, a few days before his wife was going to fly down, when his vehicle rear-ended a truck along Route 19.

Polick was taken to a nearby hospital where he was pronounced dead.

Polick was just a few months away from retirement and his 66th birthday.

Son-in-law Garrett Grenek has known the family for about 16 years. He and his wife, Kayla, are a few months away from celebrating 10 years of marriage.

He said Polick was an avid sailor, loved to fish and loved the Florida weather. Polick planned to eventually retire down south and get a boat.

“He was one of my best friends,” the son-in-law said. “The way I’ll always remember him is he was a friend to everybody. Anyone that he just met he was immediately friends with. Anyone he was friends with was like part of the family.”

The Thomas Jefferson High School grad began working for U.S. Steel in the 1970s. He raised a family in Jefferson Hills and operated a small farm in the borough.

Polick earned a bachelor of science degree from the University of Pittsburgh. He served the steel industry in various positions, his latest being a sales service manager. His job took him throughout North America, Europe and the Middle East.

Karen Bucy, a former council president, was appointed president pro-tem at the Jan. 3 reorganization meeting.

She was going to help mentor Polick in his new role.

“It’s all very sad,” Bucy said. “Everything’s turned upside down and inside out.”

Polick spoke with the Tribune-Review last year about his reasons for running for council and goals should he win.

“I’ve decided to run for council after watching the current council meetings becoming sideshows, losing professionalism, constant fighting and running on emotions, not facts,” he said. “Bring back professionalism and common sense to the decisions made by council versus shooting off the hip, and using facts and not emotions for decision-making. Everything’s fueled by emotions right now. Just deal with facts and go from there.”

Grenek said he was so proud of the win and the opportunity to make an even bigger difference in the borough.

“He was looking forward to building a coalition and look into moving things forward and get things done best for the community,” Grenek said. “His big goal was to build unity. He really wanted to see the group function well and function more as a unit.”

Council has not taken any public action regarding Polick’s seat. It is believed that Montgomery will serve as president and Bucy as vice president for the time being.

“He really would have been a great asset to this community,” Montgomery said. “He was always available to talk to. You could solve problems easily with him because he was very approachable. He was a uniter. He was very popular with the community.”

Jefferson Hills Republican Committee shared what Polick meant to the group and borough, as well as condolences to the family, via Facebook.

“Keith was not only a dedicated servant to his community, but was full of life and never hesitated to lend a helping hand to any stranger that came across him,” the post read in part. “His wonderful humor, compassion, and seeing life as a celebration is no wonder why he was loved by many.”

The borough did the same via Jefferson Hills’ official Facebook page. The flag in front of the borough building was flown at half-staff earlier this month in Polick’s memory.

Grenek said the family plans to continue operating Polick’s farm.

The family had not finalized funeral arrangements and services as of presstime.