CHESTERFIELD — From fence viewer and moth superintendent to Select Board member and county commissioner, Robert Recos has served the town for more years than most people can remember.
After suffering two strokes in the last two years, the 83-year-old Recos has decided to retire from the Select Board as of the next town election, the date of which is in flux because of the COVID-19 pandemic.
“It is sad to see him go,” Select Board member Patricia Colson Montgomery said. “We are really going to miss Bob, but it is time for him to focus on other things.”
Recos is leaving with two years left on his three-year term on the select board. He has been a board member for the last 16 years and a county commissioner for 21 years. He also currently serves on the town’s Senior Oversight Committee and Building Committee.
“I loved working on the Select Board,” Recos said. “It has been a lot of fun most of the time, and other times you just have to let the water roll of the back.”
After his last stroke in November, Recos has been undergoing both physical therapy and speech therapy.
“It really threw me for a loop and effected me to the point where I can’t really cope the way that I used to,” he said. “It effected my speech and I have been working on that once a week in speech therapy, but you know, it just tires you out a lot.”
He said that he didn’t feel it was good for the town if his condition impacted the work of his colleagues.
“I plan to get my brain going, but I don’t want to drag people down and make them slow their efforts down,” he said. “That wouldn’t be fair.”
Town Administrator Sue Labrie described Recos as a very diligent and dedicated town servant.
“I am sad to see him go because he has always been a wonderful person to work with,” she said. “He cares very deeply for his community and for the people who volunteer for the town of Chesterfield.”
Well known for his ability to meet and chat with people in the community and throughout the region, Recos was constantly seeking input on issues and new ideas that could benefit Chesterfield.
“Bob is Mr. Chesterfield, he always knows what is going on in town because he talks to people everywhere he goes,” Colson Montgomery said. “He is always active and involved in every kind of topic, and really has his finger on the heart of the town.”
Chesterfield Council on Aging Director Jan Gibeau said Recos has also been a strong supporter of the COA.
“Bob Recos is a gentleman of gentleman,” Gibeau said. “He has put in more than most in doing the work of a selectman, and is clearly very committed in helping the town.”
Originally from Petersham, Recos was born on his parent’s farm.
After serving in the Army, he took advantage of the GI Bill to go to school and earn an advanced degree in business.
He began his career with the Worcester Electric Company, working his way up as a meter reader, bill collector, lineman and power station worker while getting an advanced degree in business.
Eventually he landed a job as an internal auditor for Mass Electric, where he worked for 25 years until retiring in 1995.
After having built a home in Amherst, in the early 1970s, Recos relocated to Chesterfield in 1983.
“I wanted to get back to the country, because I am a farm boy at heart,” he said.
Recos purchased an old abandoned homestead on a 100-acre farm in town, renovated the property, and began growing feed crops for cattle and horses, growing and selling Christmas trees and harvesting cord wood.
While town elections usually take place the first Monday in May, the COVID-19 pandemic has put those elections and annual Town Meeting in flux this year.
Recos said that there are some “real qualified people” in town and he hopes someone comes forward to take his place and enjoys the job as much as he has.
“Whoever that will be I will wish them all the best,” he said.