The Inter-Mountain file photo Longtime Randolph County Commissioner Chris See passed away on Sunday at the age of 65. See was elected to the County Commission for a third time in 2020.

ELKINS — Longtime and current Randolph County Commissioner Chris See passed away at the West Virginia Caring Hospice Inpatient Center on Sunday after a brief illness.   

See, 65, was re-elected as Randolph County Commissioner in the Tygart District for a third time in 2020. He was selected as President of the County Commission four times, including his last stint in 2022.   

Current Randolph County Commission President David Kesling told The Inter-Mountain on Monday it was a pleasure to work alongside See for the past eight years.   

“Chris brought stability to the Commission with his wealth of knowledge about decisions that had been made before I got on there,” Kesling said. “I would always reach out to him and ask him ‘how did we do this in the past?’ or ‘how did we handle this in the past?’ to make sure we were doing the right thing.”     

Kesling said that he and See had become more than co-workers during their time together.   

“We grew to be good friends and he is going to be really missed by a lot of people,” Kesling said. “Anytime I needed anything he was there and the same held true for the County Commission and the county. He knew so many people in the county and the state, which made him a good point of contact for me while we served together on the Commission.”      

See graduated from Tygarts Valley High School with the class of 1979 and married his wife Deborah, who survives, in 1981. See has two children and six grandchildren.    

“Chris will be deeply missed not only Commission wise, but personal wise,” Kesling said. “He was very easy to get along with but he definitely wasn’t a push over and if he felt a certain way about a topic he would stick to his guns. I’m happy for the time we got to spend together both professionally and personally.”    

Besides dedicating his time serving the county as Commissioner, See was the owner and operator of Elkins Mobile for 25 years before opening See’s Automotive and running it for the past 10 years.   

“I have known Cris forever, way back to when he was working at the Mobile station downtown” fellow Randolph County Commissioner Cris Siler told The Inter-Mountain. “There was no better person that I have ever met. He had a heart of gold and was a great asset to the County Commission. He is going to be a hard person to replace on the Commission — he was just a wonderful friend and a great person. You can’t really say enough about him, words can’t do justice for the kind of person he was. He is going to be greatly missed.”   

The Randolph County Commission also issued a release on its Facebook page on Monday, saying “Commissioner See dedicated nearly 18 years of service to the citizens of Randolph County, faithfully serving three terms on the Commission. Throughout his years in office, Chris worked tirelessly to make Randolph County a better place for all who call it home. His commitment to public service, his willingness to help others, and his love for this community were evident in everything he did. Commissioner See’s dedication, integrity, kindness, and unwavering service have left a lasting impact on Randolph County.”     

See’s funeral services will be private. Condolences to his family can be made at www.randolphcountyfuneralhome.com.