CHESTER – Visitors waited more than an hour in the rain to pay their respects to Jack Deshler at his wake last September.
It was a tribute to a hard-working and kind-hearted man beloved by Chester residents and Deshler was honored again this week. The Town of Chester planted a tree in Deshler’s memory for Arbor Day on Thursday
at Carpenter Field.
“It was an absolute honor,” Deshler’s daughter, Michele said. “We are beyond proud of him and I am proud he was my dad. He loved his community and volunteering, and always did whatever he could do to help people.”
Chester Conservation Advisory Council member and Preservation Collective President Tracy Schuh came up with the idea to honor Jack Deshler, who spent all 82 years of his life in Chester. Town of Chester Supervisor Brandon Holdridge presented Michele Deshler and her family with a proclamation in honor of her dad’s service to the community.
Deshler, a U.S. Air Force veteran, worked for the U.S. Postal Service in Chester, as an Orange County 911 dispatcher and as a police officer in the villages of Goshen and Chester. He was a member of the Walton Engine and Hose Co. for more than 60 years and a Trustee for Chester. Dozens of Deshler’s family and friends attended the Arbor Day event on Thursday in his honor.
“It was a beautiful day,” Michele Deshler said. “I live by (Carpenter Field) and hopefully someday I can see my great grandchildren climbing that tree. We are grateful for this tribute to my dad and will never forget everything that he did for our family and the community.”
