Village Board Honors Chuck Manhart: WATCH VILLAGE VIDEO

Mayor Joe Werner saw Chuck Manhart on the fire protection district board, on the library board, on the planning and zoning commission and on the historical society, but there's one way Werner never saw Manhart.

"I never saw him sad," Werner said.

The village honored Manhart, , in a special ceremony during Monday's board meeting at . Manhart's wife Juanita, his two daughters and two of his grandchildren accepted a plaque and declaration on Manhart's behalf.

Watch video of the presentation honoring Chuck Manhart (click on item 5a on the online agenda or go to the 13:28 mark).

Manhart was born in 1931 in Darwin, Ill., one of six children. In a 2006 historical society video interview available on the village website, Manhart recalled moving to Mokena in 1948 as a 17-year-old junior in high school. The Boulder Ridge subdivision is now on the land Manhart's father rented to farm.

He joined the military in 1952 and was stationed in Germany. During this time, his grandmother encouraged a former high school classmate of Manhart's to write to the young soldier. When he got out of the service in 1954, he returned to Mokena to spend more time with the classmate, even though his family had since moved from the area.

Just over a year later, he married her. He and Juanita were married for 56 years.

Manhart joined the Mokena Fire Department, now the , as a volunteer firefighter in 1960 and stayed involved in some capacity or another until his death. It was the first step in a legacy of service that included the library board, the planning and zoning commission, the historical society and .

On behalf of the family, Juanita Manhart thanked the village for the tribute.

"Thank you all for everything. I appreciate it," Juanita Manhart said. "This is one of my comfort zones."