Betty Ann Reilly retires as town clerk
By Ginny Privitar
CHESTER — It's hard to think of anyone who embodies the finest qualities of a public servant as well as Betty Ann Reilly does. She has served as Town of Chester Clerk for 24 years and nine months, and is retiring Sept. 30.
And “public servant” is just how she sees herself — not as an official or a politician.
Born and raised in Chester, Reilly knew early on that she wanted to serve her fellow citizens. While still in high school, she was involved in Youth in Government and received a Girls State Award through the American Legion, a week-long class on government.
“I’ve just always been connected to the community and wanted to do as much as I could for the community," Reilly said. "The community’s been very good to me."
As a youngster, she got to know many residents of the village through the newspaper route she shared with her brother.
When she was a teenager, she worked for the Town Park and Recreation Commission, and, in the summer, she worked as a secretary to the guidance counselor. She was the judge’s court clerk in the village for a while and filled in as planning board secretary. Later, from 1980 to 1985, she was the deputy village clerk. And in January 1986 she was elected tax collector.
Tax collector is not exactly the most popular job in government.
“We all have to pay our taxes," Reilly said. "None of us like it. But I just try to be pleasant and treat everyone the way I would like to be treated.”
In 1989, she was elected Town of Chester Clerk. Her duties were many and varied (see sidebar). But she also extended herself in ways that were not in her job description: connecting people with organizations that could help them out, for example, or coming to the office at night or on weekends to accommodate people seeking marriage licenses (she once issued a marriage license to a couple who came back on Halloween dressed as cows for the ceremony by the judge).
In the aftermath of Hurricane Sandy, Reilly was everywhere — giving out information, helping residents, arranging for dumpsters to receive water-soaked belongings. She’s also kept many a confidence. She is known as someone who really listens, and who never says anything negative about other people.
In an example of her astounding generosity, Reilly donated one of her kidneys to Erin Carhart. Two of the young woman's donated kidneys had failed, and all possible donors in her family were found not to match. That's when Reilly came to the rescue.
Reilly said she would ask about Carhart when her mother stopped in to renew her dog license. Reilly suggested that The Chronicle do a story about Carhart to discover other donors, which the paper did. Reilly herself got tested — and was found to be a perfect match.
Reilly is also greatly admired by her fellow town clerks. In 2009, The New York State Town Clerks Association honored her with its Town Clerk of the Year Award for District 2, which includes the counties of Orange, Sullivan, Westchester, Putnam, Dutchess, Rockland, and Ulster.
More canning and genealogical study in her future
Reilly loves Chester. She and her husband, John, raised their three children here: Lara O’Neill, John Reilly III, and Michael Reilly.
She's retiring from a job she loves because health issues deprive her of the stamina she needs for the job. “It’s not fair to the community,” she said.
One difficulty about the job of town clerk is that you can’t really plan your day, she said. There are always unexpected interruptions. You may have an agenda of things you want to accomplish, but, in the end, you have to be flexible.
The best thing about the job, she said, is “speaking with the constituents when they come in. I’ve met a lot of people and made a lot of friends.”
She has a great interest in local history. When people came to town hall to do genealogical research, she enjoyed helping them look through the old birth, death and cemetery records. Not long ago, she and Town of Chester Historian Clifton Patrick helped a couple visiting from Belgium scout out the places where their ancestors had briefly lived in the area.
In retirement, she plans to work on her own family’s genealogy. She’s also looking forward to doing some traveling.
She’s been the volunteer coordinator since 1990 for the Orange County Senior Dining Program, otherwise known as “Meals on Wheels." They could always use more volunteers, she said.
Reilly enjoys canning. She makes black-cap (similar to black raspberry) jelly, hot dog relish and bread and butter pickles and other goodies for presents at Christmastime.
She is proud and grateful that the Kiwanis Club allowed her to participate in the creation of the 9/11 memorial, even though she is not a member of the club. Because of her position, she did not join any organization officially, but was a friend to all.
The decision to retire was a difficult one for Reilly, and she gets emotional at the thought of leaving. But she says it’s the best decision.
After taking some time off to rest, she will consider the next phase of her life. In the meantime, she and John have seven grandchildren, and one on the way, to keep them happy and occupied.
Best wishes, Betty Ann. You’ll be missed.
Related stories online:
"A kidney donor is found for Chester woman": http://bit.ly/YaJtvR
"Betty Ann Reilly is the town clerks’ choice": http://bit.ly/1rlWZHA