The Community Action Commission lost a longtime director, but they also lost a great friend and storyteller.
Community Action Commission, or CAC, founder and director Jack Hagerty passed away Monday night at the Court House Manor Nursing Home where he had been a patient for the past month.
"His mind was sharp, but his body let him down," said fellow CAC employee Ryan Hosch.
Hagerty was born in Washington C.H. on October 25, 1916 and graduated from Washington High School in 1934. He played sports in high school and was inducted into the Blue Lions Athletic Hall of Fame in 1991
"He followed Washington City schools and (Ohio State University) football until he wasn't well enough to attend them anymore," said long time employee Bambi Baughn.
Following high school, Hagerty attended the University of Notre Dame where he earned a degree in commerce in 1939.
"He loved Notre Dame football," said Baughn. "We always bought him something Notre Dame related for Christmas."
Upon returning to Washington C.H., he was manager of the former P. Hagerty Shoe Co. and became the first director of the CAC in 1965, a position he held until his death.
Baughn was hired in 1978 and at the time Hagerty claimed he was getting ready to retire.
"He loved to be with people, that's why he never retired," said Baughn.
"The Community Action Committee was his life, he completely devoted his life to it," said Roger Thompson, Director of Transportation for the CAC.
Hagerty was most proud of the time he served in the U.S. Navy during World War II and he was eager to share his experiences with everyone.
"He absolutely loved to tell war stories," said Thompson.
"Listening to his stories was half the fun of working at CAC," said Hosch.
"We could probably tell you all of them," said Baughn. "His stories somehow got better and better every year."
Hagerty was the only director the CAC has ever had, but because he was open and flexible the CAC was able to try a lot of new things, said Baughn.
"He was as sharp as a tack, friendly and smart," said Thompson.
Hagerty and his wife, Virginia Chaffin, had three cats whom he also liked to tell people about.
"They were really smart cats, according to him," said Baughn.
Hosch knew Hagerty from the time he was little and went to the CAC to visit his aunt.
"He even took to little ones, I still remember seeing him when I went into the CAC when I was little," said Hosch. "He befriended everyone, I never knew him to meet a stranger."
Those friends he made, he kept. According to Baughn in the last months of his life, he called a couple of his old employees with whom he hadn't spoken in a while.
The CAC is still in the planning stages of how they will honor Hagerty. One idea is to name the new board room in their newly purchased building after him, according to Thompson, but nothing has been decided yet.
"He definitely deserves anything we do for him," said Thompson.
"He was just genuinely a nice guy," said Hosch. "He was one of those unique individuals and you don't meet one everyday."
