Edgecomb selectmen remembered Jack Sarmanian Sept. 20 as a devoted public servant who dedicated 18 years to making the town a better place. Sarmanian died Sept. 11 after a lengthy illness. Chairman Dawn Murray described her predecessor as an “honorable man who did a lot things behind the scenes in the community while in a lot of pain.”

Sarmanian won five selectman elections and served for 13 years. Previously, he worked on finding new locations for the school and fire station. Selectmen Ted Hugger and Mike Smith served with Sarmanian. “He was an old-school gentleman who did all he could to help,” Hugger said. “He volunteered with the Red Cross and was a compassionate advocate for those in need. We are really going to miss him.”

Smith worked with Sarmanian on the search for a new Eddy school. He credited Sarmanian with leading the town through some hard decisions on new school and fire station locations. “It took 13 years to find the right location for the fire station. He worked tirelessly on the search and navigated us around some tough road blocks,” Smith said. “I’m proud of what Jack accomplished for us.”

Selectmen want to further discuss how the town should honor Sarmanian. Selectmen agreed to add it to a list of topics for an upcoming public forum discussing the town’s future.

Selectmen meet next at 6 p.m. Monday, Oct. 4 in the town hall.