Former PA State Rep. Jeff Pyle, 60th Legislative District. GOP.

Butler County Community College made the right decision in naming its new facility in Ford City after the late state Rep. Jeff Pyle.

Pyle, who served in the House from 2005 to 2021, died in September 2022 at age 58 after a 17-year battle with cancer.

The new $6.6 million BC3 @ Armstrong facility is on the site of the former Ford City Junior-Senior High School, where Pyle studied and taught.

The campus is a single-story facility with four classrooms, a multipurpose room, a natural science laboratory, student meeting space and staff and faculty offices.

Pyle attended the Sept. 24, 2021, groundbreaking and gave an “impassioned speech,” BC3 President Nick Neupauer said. “It’s something I’ll never forget.”

“This day is about you,” Neupauer told Pyle that day, “more than anyone else.”

As a representative of the state’s 60th legislative district, which includes parts of Armstrong, Butler and Indiana counties, Pyle and state Sen. Joe Pittman, R-41st, were instrumental in helping secure a $1.75 million state Redevelopment Assistance Capital Program grant toward construction of the facility.

Before serving in the House, Pyle was mayor of Ford City and a teacher at Ford City Junior-Senior High School. The school on Fourth Avenue was demolished for the site to become the new home of BC3 @ Armstrong.

Pyle was passionate about his hometown and was instrumental in getting the facility off the ground.

“Jeff had a vision of bringing education back to that specific spot. It literally brought education to generations of families, immigrants and his own family. He went to Ford City High School; so did his mother and grandfather. That made it that much sweeter,” Neupaer told the Eagle after Pyle’s death.

Pyle was diagnosed with kidney cancer soon after taking his seat in the House to represent the 60th district in 2005. He continued to serve as he underwent treatment and made a complete recovery. After the cancer returned to his chest in 2018, he suffered a stroke in 2020 that forced him to resign from the House. The district includes communities in Armstrong, Butler and Indiana counties.

Pittman, one of Pyle’s high school students,, called him a mentor and a confidant. He said the BC3 facility will be “the crown jewel of his legacy,.”

It made perfect sense for BC3 to name the new structure The State Rep. Jeffrey P. Pyle Building. His name will live for decades for his contributions to BC3 and his hometown.

—JGG