WASHINGTON – Former Dutchess County Sheriff Adrian Butch Anderson, who died in 2021 at the age of 72, was admired and respected by residents of both Putnam and Dutchess counties, and now a post office located near the border of both municipalities will bear his name.
Congressman Michael Lawler (R, NY-17) announced Wednesday that his bill designating the renaming received approval from the House of Representatives and now moves onto the Senate for consideration.
Lawler remembered Anderson as a man who “lived a life marked by commitment, bravery, and an unwavering sense of duty. His life is a tapestry of service, woven with the threads of courage, leadership, and community spirit. In renaming the Holmes Post Office, we ensure that future generations will know the name Sheriff Butch Anderson, not just as a law enforcement hero, but as a role model of public service, and a true hero of our community.”
Dutchess County Executive Sue Serino described Anderson as a man who was “larger than life who lived by the mantra ‘treat people the way you would want to be treated.’ He treated each and every one of us like family. Butch was a true hero. Words hardly feel enough to articulate the full debt of gratitude we owe to the Sheriff and his loved ones.”
Last January, the late Putnam County Sheriff Kevin McConville called Anderson New York’s “premier sheriff. The Dutchess County Sheriff’s Office is considered one of the best because Sheriff Anderson continually was ahead of the curve in making changes to his agency, a strategy to remain ahead of crime patterns and trends.”
Kent Police Chief Kevin Owens described the late sheriff as a “friend to our department. Whenever we needed help with anything be it enrolling one of our officers in school or an investigation in Dutchess County related to our town, even accident reconstruction, Butch was always there for us.”
Former Putnam Sheriff Don Smith recalled how he and Anderson were childhood friends. “That friendship lasted for decades and as a matter of fact Butch’s dad, Bud, was the photographer at Jane and my wedding.”
In the field of law enforcement, Smith described Anderson as an “icon. He had a natural way of treating people well and helping everyone he came into contact with. He was always kind in a very tough profession. Not only in Dutchess and Putnam, Butch Anderson was a legend in law enforcement across New York State.”
The lifelong Pawling resident also served as mayor of Pawling for eight years in the 1980s and 1990s and was a founding member and Executive Director of the Ryan McElroy Children’s Cancer Foundation that has raised tens of thousands of dollars over the years to support children residing in Putnam and Dutchess afflicted with cancer and other life-threatening illnesses.
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