Community honors retiring county Commissioner Chuck Anderson and his wife
Chuck Anderson stepped back, a look of genuine surprise on his face.
The luncheon at Lakeview Lounge had been advertised as the regular monthly meeting of the local chapter of the Military Officers Association of America, an event that typically draws about 30 retired military officers.
On Wednesday, more than 200 people crowded into the Hempfield banquet hall. They were there for a surprise farewell gathering to wish the outgoing Westmoreland County commissioner, a retired Marine colonel, and his wife well on their second retirement and thank them for their work in the community.
A Greensburg native who retired from active duty in the Marine Corps in 1992, Anderson and his wife, Nancy — who retired from the Marine Corps as a colonel a decade later — have been fixtures in the local community ever since.
The Andersons — he is 77, and she is 68 — landed in Greensburg after a military career that compelled them to pull up stakes 17 times to move across the country and around the world. They have been married for 43 years.
For now, as Chuck Anderson prepares to retire after 11 years as commissioner, the pair agreed to scale back on their volunteer work and concentrate, for now, on their love of travel and visiting their three children and five grandchildren.
Nancy Anderson said they plan to split their time between Greensburg and their second home near Carlisle, which is midway between family here and Virginia.
Jim Bendel, a longtime friend and former naval officer who organized Wednesday’s luncheon, said the Andersons have been integral parts of so many church and civic organizations over the past two decades that just listing them is time consuming.
The Andersons, Bendel said, exemplify the military officers’ motto: “Never Stop Serving.”
“Thank you for coming back home and spending so much time with so many different projects in the community,” Bendel said, introducing a video tribute to the couple.
The Westmoreland County Food Bank, the American Red Cross, local hospitals and church groups all benefited from their work. Last year, when the top post at the Westmoreland Cultural Trust became vacant, Nancy Anderson stepped in and steered the arts group for six months while it sought a permanent leader.
Francine Gibbon, Chuck Anderson’s administrative aide, said her boss has been unlike anyone she’s ever worked for in public service.
“Politicians can be nasty but, in all that time, I never heard him say a bad word about anyone. And he never scaled back. When he became commissioner, you’d still see him working at the food bank on Saturdays. And anytime he heard someone had been hospitalized, he was out to visit,” she said.
Catholic Bishop of Greensburg Edward Malesic served as keynote speaker for the event. He commended the couple for their work.
“God calls all of us to something,” Malesic said. “God called you to a life of service. And you said yes to everything that needed to be done.”
Those on hand to honor the Andersons included state Sen. Kim Ward, county Commissioner Gina Cerilli and newly elected Commissioners Sean Kertes and Doug Chew.
Cerilli said the county will light the courthouse dome in red, white and blue Thursday through Sunday night in honor of the Andersons.
“I’m still in a state of shock,” Chuck Anderson said. “It’s been an honor to serve a community we both love.”
Deb Erdley is a Tribune-Review staff writer. You can contact Deb at derdley@triblive.com.
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