CRANBERRY TWP — When former manager Jerry Andree came to the township in the 1990s, Cranberry's parks system was a shell of its current state.

Three decades later, Andree has something concrete — well, metal — signifying his championing of Cranberry parks: A bench dedicated to him in one of his favorite spots in Graham Park.

That bench, by the wetlands in Graham Park, is just one of the manners in which the township honors Andree's contributions. He was also honored with a road, leading to the municipal building, being renamed Jerry Andree Way, and a parks endowment bearing his name whose assets are climbing toward $100,000.

For Andree — described by his successor Dan Santoro as “a pretty humble guy” — his work wasn't for the post-retirement honors.

“I'm honored,” Andree said. “I really am very appreciative of the recognition. Certainly it's not needed, but I understand and I'm extremely appreciative.”

So why is the bench in that specific spot?

Andree said it took him some time, but he decided on a spot he loves and wants to share with the community — and somewhere he'll sit or ride his bike past twice or thrice a week.

“I'm really excited about the bench,” he said. “I kept looking and thinking, 'Where do I want the bench at?'

“I love Graham Park, and I find the wetlands there very relaxing and reflective. It's a very underappreciated area of the park.”

Although Andree initially wasn't keen on the idea of such public recognition, Santoro, who called Andree a “great advocate and champion for the parks,” said Cranberry staff and its board of supervisors couldn't think of a better way to remember and honor his 30 years of service.

“Both the naming of the street and the park bench are fitting ways in which to recognize someone who's had the kind of impact that Jerry's had,” Santoro said. “Those aren't enough, though. With the endowment, when you combine those, that's a fitting way to recognize the impact that he had over all those years.”

In Graham Park, maintained in part by The Jerry Andree Endowment, at a red bench bearing a plaque boasting of his parks-related achievements, Andree might just be there, enjoying not the result of his decades of hard work but instead something simpler.

“It's a great place for anyone to enjoy the sights and sounds of the wetland,” Andree said.