By: Major Frank Duracher

Commissioners David and Barbara Jeffrey, USA national leaders since 2013, enter honored retirement Aug. 31 after a combined 96 years of active service as Salvation Army officers.

The retirement salute was held at National Headquarters and was supported by General André and Commissioner Silvia Cox. Colonel David Hudson, the national chief secretary, led the service of recognition and celebration under the theme, "A Full-Filled Life." Major Earl Fitzgerald made the presentation of the retirement certificate, lauding his former corps officers who mentored him before he went to training.

Other program participants were: Lt. Colonel Walter Fuge, Captain Pamela Maynor, Major Cora Mae Thompson, Major Michael Vincent, Lt. Colonel Ron Busroe and Lt. Colonel Esther Satterlee. Scott Bedio and Lt. Colonel Mark Israel served as flagbearers during the certificate presentation.

Lieutenant Barbara Garris was already stationed in West Virginia as assistant corps officer of the Clarksburg Corps when she met David Jeffrey, a soldier of the Morgantown Corps. They were married in 1969, and the rest, as they say, is history.

Before David entered training, they assisted in Fairmont, West Virginia, and were in charge of the Norway, West Virginia, Outpost. As cadet-lieutenants, they served together as corps officers in Front Royal, Virginia, and Grafton, West Virginia. Their corps appointments following commissioning included Baltimore Hampden and Hagerstown, Maryland.

Divisional staff appointments were in National Capital-Virginia and North-South Carolina as well as Alabama-Louisiana-Mississippi and Georgia.

The Jeffreys were the personnel directors, and then assistant principal and director of special services, at Evangeline Booth College. In addition, they served as divisional commander and divisional director of women's ministries in Kentucky-Tennessee and Texas.

In addition to those two divisional appointments, they were stationed at Southern Territorial Headquarters as secretary for program and assistant secretary for program, and as chief secretary and territorial secretary for women's ministries. In their first stint at NHQ, they were the national chief secretary and the national women's ministries secretary.

In August 2011, they returned to Atlanta as territorial commander and territorial president of women's ministries until coming to their present posts, from which they retire.