Sep. 19—When Theo van de Venne was looking to move from Belgium to a new home in the U.S., he and his family immediately were drawn to Murrysville.

"In December 1976, we had just spent almost four years in Brussels, where I worked for Westinghouse Europe," van de Venne said. "Murrysville was our preference because of quality schools and abundant green space."

Van de Venne and his wife, Pia, wasted no time getting involved with the community, a passion they have pursued for nearly five decades.

On Thursday, van de Venne will be recognized following his resignation from the board of directors at the Murrysville Community Library as well as the Murrysville Community Library Foundation.

They are just two of the many volunteer positions he has held over the years.

Shortly after arriving in town in the mid-1970s, van de Venne discovered a fledgling youth soccer group looking for volunteers.

"I signed up immediately," he said.

The result was the Murrysville Area Soccer Association, and van de Venne spent his Sundays for the next 14 years playing, coaching and refereeing games until the youngest of his three sons headed off to college.

After retiring from Westinghouse in 1996, a friend suggested van de Venne look into the Westmoreland Conservancy, another local nonprofit that was in its infancy.

After a few years, he was elected president in 2001 and, working with the previous president, Cary Bohl, helped the conservancy to open the McGinnis Reserve, a 52-acre property donated by the McGinnis family, which owns Respironics on Murry Ridge Lane.

"Working together with Cary, he orchestrated a beautiful reveal of the reserve, complete with bagpipes to honor the Scottish heritage of the McGinnis family," conservancy President Shelly Tichy said.

From there, van de Venne moved on to Murrysville Council, where he was part of the hiring of Murrysville's current police chief, as well as former chief administrator Jim Morrison.

"For me, the best purchase of my eight years on council was the Cline Farm property," van de Venne said.

The $1.35 million purchase turned into modern-day Murrysville Community Park.

About the same time, van de Venne and his wife decided they wanted to donate a large portion of their property off Round Top Road to Murrysville to keep it from being developed.

It took until 2011 and included the involvement of the Westmoreland Land Trust. But, eventually, the property became an expansion for Murrysville's Duff Park, complete with miles of trails.

"He loves Murrysville, and he wants to leave our town in a better place for future generations," said Jill Cooper, who worked with van de Venne during his time with the Murrysville Economic and Community Development Corp. "For me, that's really meaningful, and we're lucky to have people like him who love their community and want to give back."

Van de Venne also has volunteered with the Murrysville library board, its foundation and the local chapter of Meals on Wheels.

"He's been such an asset to the community, and it's been an honor working with him," said Amy Riegner, director of Murrysville Community Library. "Our time together was only a couple years, but he's touched a lot of lives and helped a lot of people."

Van de Venne will be recognized at 7 p.m. Thursday at the library, 4130 Sardis Road, in Murrysville. The public is invited to attend.

Patrick Varine is a Tribune-Review staff writer. You can contact Patrick by email at pvarine@triblive.com or via Twitter .