CLARKSBURG, W.Va. –– A Mass of Christian Burial will be held Friday, January 31, at 11:00 am in the Immaculate Conception Catholic Church for Patsy Trecost Snr., who served the city of Clarksburg in a variety of roles for nearly four decades. Trecost died Monday at the age of 79.

On WAJR’s “Talk of the Town,” his son Patsy Trecost II said his father graduated from Notre Dame High School and started college at Salem University. By the age of 19, Trecost left Salem and returned to Clarksburg, where he went to work for the public works department. Over the next decade or so, Trecost was promoted through the ranks from laborer to general manager of the Clarksburg Water Board to city manager.

“He did not finish college and got hired at Clarksburg Public Works when he was 19 and kept working his way up,” Trecost said. “In his early 30s he became Clarksburg City Manager.”

Shoestring annexation is defined as acquiring contiguous property to a municipality that could be connected only by a thin strip of land. Trecost used the technique to establish a strategically located shopping center at the intersection of U.S. Route 50 and I-79. The location is easy to access by smaller markets in the area and has proven to be a major economic driver for the city.

“My dad had actually figured out shoestring annexation, and that’s how the city of Clarksburg ended up annexing the Eastpointe Center, which is its lifeblood right now,” Trecost said. “Later they would use it to annex the FBI into the city.”

Eastpointe was completed at a time when many downtowns across the region were drying up. The younger Trecost said the Eastpointe development has remained Vibrant with changes over the years but has remained an economic engine for the city and a regional shopping draw.

“Those aren’t my words; they’re their words,” Trecost said. “He was far ahead of the curve on seeing things how they could be, not for what they are, but what they could be.”

He was passionate about Clarksburg, and he gave his life to it.”

Hard work, honesty, and getting things done were the hallmarks that made him a success. Trecost was impatient by nature, but it was a quality that helped employees and residents understand his standards and expectations.

“He cared about the pothole; he cared about the gravel in the alley,” Trecost said. He cared about the big things as well as the little things, and I think that’s how he was able to thrive.”

 

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