Long-Time City Clerk Retires After 38 Years

SEA ISLE CITY — City Hall in this shore town won’t be the same as it recently lost to retirement one of its most dedicated and beloved employees.
City Council passed a surprise resolution June 24 honoring Municipal Clerk Theresa “Terry” Tighe for her many years of service to the city.
“Terry has contributed service beyond the call of duty in so many ways to so many people,” Council President Mike McHale read from the resolution.
According to the resolution, Tighe started her career with Sea Isle City on September 10, 1970 in the clerk’s office as a clerk typist. Through the years she rose through the ranks and was appointed in 1987 as the municipal clerk and registrar of vital statistics.
Tighe was appointed secretary of the Cape May County Municipal Clerk’s Association in 1990 and became president in 1993.
Tighe, 68, told the Herald in her 38 years she’s served with four mayors (Bill Wilsey, Dominic Raffa, Mike McHale and Leonard Desiderio) in two forms of government (commission and mayor council) all in the same building at 4416 Landis Ave.
“Terry will now have the time that she so greatly deserves and has earned through her years of hard work on behalf of Sea Isle
City to spend with her family and to fish and crab and do all the things she loves to do,” McHale continued.
Tighe and her husband Raymond, who will celebrate their 50th wedding anniversary this year, have four children, 15 grandchildren, three great- grandchildren and a new chocolate lab puppy that she said is a lot of work.
“Although we are saddened by her departure, we wish her the best in all of her future endeavors, and honor her for the outstanding person she is, and the example she has set for all of us to follow,” McHale concluded.
Mayor Desiderio said Tighe had been a great asset to the city.
“Terry has been one of the most knowledgeable people that I’ve relied on for answers in my 15 years as an elected official. She has vast knowledge in city government and a wealth of knowledge on the way the clerk’s office should operate,” he said.
“In these 15 years, I’ve marveled at the energy she continued to have at meetings and in doing her regular duties. It is a well-deserved retirement for Terry. She has devoted many years to Sea Isle City and for that we are very appreciative.”
Tighe, who usually knows everything that goes on in City Hall, said she was “flabbergasted” that the mayor and council were able to have this resolution done behind her back.
“They pulled it off without me knowing about it,” she told the Herald.
Tighe said she was also “overwhelmed” by the standing ovation she received from not only the government officials, but also the dozens of citizens who attend council meetings regularly.
Of her career with the city, Tighe said there have been good times and bad times, but overall she wouldn’t trade it in for anything.
“I’ve worked with a lot of great people and when you work with a good group it makes it all worthwhile,” she said.
Even though the diminutive Tighe isn’t the tallest municipal clerk in history, her replacement is going to have some pretty big shoes to fill.
Tighe was confident, however, that Cindy Griffith, who council appointed to the post at the June 24 meeting, would fit right in.
“Cindy is aces. She’s a personal friend of mine,” Tighe said of her friend who is leaving the same position in Ocean City to take the Sea Isle City job. “She’s a professional and Sea Isle won’t skip a beat with her on the job.”
Griffith is familiar with the mayor/council form of government from Ocean City, Tighe said.
“Since we changed our form of government last year, I’ve frequently called Cindy to ask her questions,” Tighe said. “I know she’ll be a great asset to the city.”
Over the years in her position, Tighe frequently spoke with newspaper reporters but always preferred not to be quoted in the articles, but after the meeting she told the Herald, “I love Sea Isle City and you can quote me on that.”
Contact Hart at (609) 886-8600 Ext 35 or at: jhart@cmcherald.com