He spent years planning Tega Cay. Now this ‘gift to the city’ is gone.

One of the people largely responsible for the city has become, is gone.

Mayor George Sheppard sent a notice Monday through the city’s public notice system stating former planner and Tega Cay City Council member John Dervay died Sunday.

Dervay retired to Tega Cay after a career in engineering. He became the city’s zoning administrator in 1996. He worked extensively with the city’s planning commission and board of zoning appeals. Once he finished working for the city, he ran for and won a council seat. He began in 2005, serving six years.

Ron Kirby knew Dervay well as fellow citizens, from Kirby’s time on city council when Dervay worked with the city and when they served on council together.

“John was a gift to the city,” Kirby said. “Hard-headed, but by right, because he had an extreme amount of knowledge about planning and zoning.”

Kirby’s respect for Dervay doesn’t mean the two always agreed. Or even that they often agreed.

“I'd tell him if he was standing here,” Kirby said. “He wasn’t always right and I wasn’t always wrong. That’s what we agreed to. And it went both ways.”

Where the two found common ground was, regardless of all else, they wanted what they felt was best for the city.

“Everybody brings something different,” Kirby said of council service, “and he brought a wealth of knowledge. Very smart man. Very straight-forward. He’ll be greatly missed.”

Influenced infrastructure

Dervay’s influence touched several parts of the city. He was involved with the construction of Turner Field, reconstruction of Windjammer Drive and development agreements creating the Stonecrest, Gardendale and other communities.

“John was heavily involved in many of the city’s early infrastructure projects,” Sheppard wrote in the city announcement. “During those days, all of staff wore a lot of different hats and John was no exception.”

Sheppard wrote of his admiration for Dervay’s ability to laugh at himself and not take himself too seriously, even when he took city work quite seriously.

“I would often seek his advice on matters that faced our city, and sometimes he volunteered his advice,” Sheppard wrote. “He was never shy about giving his opinion on things, regardless of the subject. John was always willing to listen and give me advice, even after he left council. As a matter of fact, he gave me his opinion of the city this past Friday.”

Former Council member Larry Harper recalls Dervay in the same light. Harper said whether on council or city staff, Dervay was a key piece to so many planning decisions.

“John was a very likeable character,” Harper said. “He did his own thing. He was his own person. I enjoyed working with him immensely. I always felt good that we as a group were making those decisions.”

Often the disagreements Dervay encountered in the city related to his knowledge of and passion for its regulations.

“He might have ruffled some feathers in his code enforcement days, but he tried to do it all by the book,” Harper said.

Harper recalls Dervay on staff, but said his friend came out of his shell the most while serving on council. And he did it often.

“He had a couple of wild streaks in him, and we found them,” Harper said. “That is his personality. He was opinionated. If you agreed, you agreed. If you didn’t, you didn’t.”

Harper said even when disagreeing, he wasn’t going to get too upset with a man who just wanted to see Tega Cay at its best.

“He was a good person,” Harper said, “and we’ll miss him.”

This story was originally published November 20, 2017 at 5:26 PM with the headline "He spent years planning Tega Cay. Now this ‘gift to the city’ is gone.."