Tay Waltenbaugh, former Community Action leader, had passion for helping people

At 6 feet, 7 inches tall, Tay R. Waltenbaugh was a larger-than-life person who had a passion for helping those in need become self-sufficient.

“He did so much for so many people. No one was more committed to helping others in Westmoreland County than Tay,” said county Commissioner Ted Kopas. “He had a profound empathy for those who needed help.”

Waltenbaugh, of Hempfield, died Sunday at his home. He was 69.

Jeannette Mayor Curtis Antoniak said when Waltenbaugh was chief executive officer of Westmoreland Community Action, he pushed for the construction of new homes along South Sixth Street.

“He did so much for our city. Jeannette is definitely going to miss him,” Antoniak said.

Speaking of Waltenbaugh’s desire to help others, Antoniak said, “God calls all of us to serve. He truly served his fellow man. It’s a big loss and heaven’s gain.”

During his tenure leading Westmoreland Community Action from 1990 to 2019, Waltenbaugh helped the agency grow in funding, services and programming. He started at the agency when it was named Westmoreland Human Opportunities.

Not only was he a leader, Kopas said, but he was an innovator.

“He helped to lead Westmoreland Community Action in so many community initiatives,” said Mandy Zalich, chief executive officer of the organization.

The project in Jeannette was part of an effort to foster community economic development, Zalich said. WCA acted as a catalyst for several projects in communities including New Kensington, Monessen, Latrobe, Mt. Pleasant and Youngwood.

“There are countless families in Westmoreland County who owe a debt of gratitude to Tay,” Kopas said.

Waltenbaugh was born Sept. 9, 1954, in Fort Benning, Ga., and grew up in Tarentum, a son of D. Roebling and Edith Waltenbaugh.

At Highlands High School, he was a star basketball player, helping to lead his team to the Section 3-A title in the 1971-72 season, his senior year, said George Guido, an Alle-Kiski Valley sports historian.

Waltenbaugh played at Juniata College in Huntingdon, where he was named in 1977 and 1978 as honorable mention Little All-American, the recognition given to small-college players. He scored 41 points against Messiah in a game in 1977, according to Benjamin Grant, an assistant athletic director at Juniata.

After graduation, he worked as a supervisor at Adelphoi Village. It was there that he met his future wife, Brenda L. Krisfalusi, who also was a supervisor for Adelphoi. Later, he moved on to Big Brothers/Big Sisters of Westmoreland County, where he was the executive director from 1985 to 1990.

“He was a tall timber. He provided a lot of shade for me,” Brenda Waltenbaugh said.

His daughter, Kara Gardner of Derry, said she wants to work with Big Brothers/Big Sisters to expand its service area to the Derry Area School District, where she is the high school principal. Her father served as a Big Brother for many years, she noted.

“His life’s work was helping people. He was extremely humble,” said his son, T.R. Waltenbaugh of Unity.

For many years, he was an assistant basketball coach at Hempfield Area, working with coach Bill Swan. He was helping coach the teams when both his sons, T.R. and Lane Waltenbaugh of Hempfield, were playing.

Waltenbaugh had a passion for the outdoors and a love of hunting and fishing, so much so that he hosted an outdoors program on radio station WCNS in Latrobe for many years, Gardner said.

Lane Waltenbaugh recalled taking fishing trips with his father and brother to a remote family cabin in Canada’s Quebec province every year, a drive that included two hours on dirt roads.

After retiring as executive director of Westmoreland Community Action, Waltenbaugh, a Democrat, ran but lost to Republican state Sen. Kim Ward in the November 2020 election in the 39th District.

He also is survived by two grandchildren and a sister, Enid Waltenbaugh.

Friends will be received from 1 to 8 p.m. Wednesday at Leo M. Bacha Funeral Home Inc., 516 Stanton St., Southwest Greensburg. A funeral service will be held at 10 a.m. Thursday in the funeral home, with the Rev. John M. Smaligo officiating.

A celebration of life will be held at a later date.

Memorial contributions may be made to Derry Area School District Foundation at 982 N. Chestnut St. Ext., Derry, PA 15627. Donors are asked to write “Tay Waltenbaugh” on the memo. Gardner said her father was a big supporter of the school district’s agriculture and horticulture programs.