William Dickinson was a dedicated, dependable person in every aspect of his life.

"I could always count on him to be there," said Charles Underwood, Zelienople council president. "Bill was my right-hand man.."

Mr. Dickinson, of Zelienople, a borough councilman since 2002, died Monday from natural causes. He was 68.

"He started with us in the fire police in 2000," said Mr. Underwood, referring to the volunteers who direct traffic during special events or during emergencies in the borough.

"Every parade in Zelienople, every event, he was there directing traffic and helping out," said his daughter, Patricia McClellan.

In addition to being a member of the Zelienople Volunteer Fire Department Special Fire Police, Mr. Dickinson was treasurer of the Zelienople Volunteer Fire Department.

Mrs. McClellan said she and her sister were not surprised when he ran for borough council.

"He had been involved with the Western Butler County Authority and he always liked being involved with the community," she said. "We just assumed being a borough council member was the next step for him."

In addition to his service in the fire department, the fire police and the borough council, Mr. Dickinson also served as head of the borough's public safety committee, the information technology committee and the human resources committee. He also served on the borough's sewer authority for more than 20 years.

"Bill was a very dedicated council member," Mr. Underwood said. "He never missed a meeting and he was so involved with many committees that I don't know how he managed to do it all, but he did."

During his time on the human resources committee, Mr. Dickinson spent a great deal of time evaluating salaries and benefits of area police forces to make sure Zelienople was up to par.

"He had helped to do a lot of work on that," Mr. Underwood said.

Mr. Dickinson retired from Billco Manufacturing in 2004, where he was a project engineer. He had worked for the company since 1984. Mrs. McClellan said her father's background was in mechanical engineering. Before his employment at Billco, he worked for Herman Corp.

Mrs. McClellan remembers her father as very selfless and caring. He took over the role of mother and father after his wife, Charlotte, died.

"When my mom passed away in 1999, he had to learn how to do everything alone," she said. "So with me and my sister, he tried to make up a lot for that when we graduated from college and when we got married and when my sister's son was born, because mom wasn't there."

Besides his many civic duties, Mr. Dickinson had a hobby that he indulged in before his children were born.

"He had three Corvettes and he used to show and race them with my mom," said Mrs. McClellan. "But he gave that up once I came along. He didn't get back into it until last summer, when he bought a 1995 Corvette and began showing it at every car cruise he could get into."

In addition to Mrs. McClellan, of Zelienople, Mr. Dickinson is survived by a daughter, Susan A. Driscoll, of Coraopolis; a brother, Robert Dickinson, of Allison Park; two sisters, Terri Worrall, of Elizabeth and Karen Jones, of Shelocta in Indiana County, and a grandson.

A funeral was held Thursday at the Boylan Funeral Home, Zelienople. Burial followed in St. Gregory Cemetery, Zelienople.