‘Pennington meant so much to her’

The impact of Eileen Heinzel is felt throughout Pennington and even more so now with the newly unveiled Eileen M. Heinzel Memorial Arboretum.

Family, friends, and community members gathered together in the local arboretum, which is off of Curlis Avenue and behind Toll Gate Grammar School in Pennington, for an official dedication to Heinzel on June 7.

Heinzel, who passed away in 2022, was a key individual to the efforts of establishing the arboretum. Her service and volunteer efforts to the borough spanned close to 20 years in several capacities such as a longtime councilwoman and borough administrator.

Erich Heinzel, son of Eileen and Paul Heinzel, read his father’s remarks during the dedication. Paul Heinzel thanked Pennington Borough, Mayor Jim Davy, Borough Council, Councilwoman Catherine “Kit” Chandler, the Enviornmental Commission and all the volunteers.

“Eileen loved working for this town that is all that there is to it,” he wrote. “I think this arboretum is a great testament to that.

“It has been said before that her mark is everywhere in this town from sidewalks to historic preservation to the renovations at Borough Hall just to name a few that come to my mind. But also, to making sure that borough employees of all types were treated fairly and recognized for all the good work that they do in our town.”

He shared that he also knows Eileen was greatly loved by those who worked with her. “You all made that very plain to me and my children with all of your words and acts of kindness during her illness,” Heinzel added.

“She made her work for the borough look all so effortless and she learned all her great public service skills from her family and wonderful parents, who both themselves were lifelong longtime public servants. Her mother was a four-time mayor in Tinton Falls and her father was a career Army aviator,” he wrote.

“Her dedication to all of that was always so plain and she did it right up till the end and always with a sense of joy. Well after we received her terminal diagnosis she would tend to borough business long after hours all without complaint. As I said it was all because she loved what she was doing and there was no complaint from her because there was nothing to complain about just new challenges to solve and move forward.”

Heinzel explained that he thinks Eileen would really be overwhelmed by the dedication and arboretum.

“A green space right in the heart of the town she loved so much will forever bear her name. I’d think she would just say from the bottom of her heart – WOW! She would also say thank you and what a tremendous honor this is,” he added.

Heinzel gave his thanks to Morris Fabian, who came to him when Eileen was very sick and offered the planting of a “star magnolia” tree in her name in the arboretum.

“That tree will be the focal point for me and my children from this day forward as will this whole arboretum,” he wrote.

Erich Heinzel said the dedication is such an honor and that his mom really loved Pennington.

“Pennington meant so much to her,” he said. “A memory that stands out to me – a couple years back Pennington was named the number one town to raise family, and I don’t think she smiled more for a picture.

“So, to be so honored deeply by such a thoughtful and deeply thought-out gesture would really mean a lot to her and means a lot to us.”

His mom’s impact and service in Pennington has inspired Erich and his siblings Kristen Heinzel, Julia Heinzel, and John Heinzel in all of their careers and what they want to do going forward.

“My sister went into the Navy, now switching to a career in medicine, my sister is working for the American Civil Liberties Union (ACL) right now, my brother wants to be a Ph.D. in Physics and I’m looking to be working at the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection,” he explained.

“All very public service oriented, paying it forward to the community. She really raised us with that, and it is so evident the reciprocal relationship between your community and yourself and how that all builds together.”

Heinzel described his mom as a really honorable, loving, thoughtful woman, who cared deeply for her family and her community.

“Always selflessly giving just above and beyond what was required because she saw so intrinsically the value of community,” he said.

Eileen Heinzel just gave her heart and soul to everything she did for the borough whether as a resident, volunteer, and borough administrator, Councilwoman Chandler said.

“I served on council with her, and she was just an inspiration,” she said. “I would watch her logic and how sensible she was, and she cared deeply about the issues, and I really learned a lot from her.

“Whether she was volunteering on whatever commission or the library, she just was never stopping. She was always doing something. She really was an inspiration.”

Eileen Heinzel was borough administrator when the idea for the arboretum became a reality. She was the facilitator who applied for the Association of New Jersey Enviornmental Commissions (ANJEC) open space stewardship grant, helped steward the arboretum to completion, and had been the borough’s contact with the Hopewell Valley Regional School District (HVRSD).

A 2017 ANJEC grant provided the initial funds to create a plan to explore and develop a plan for a potential arboretum. Mike Van Clef, stewardship director of the Friends of Hopewell Valley Open Space (FoHVOS), a nonprofit organization that preserves land and protects natural resources, would conduct the initial study to determine if the arboretum was able to be established on the more than two acres of land adjacent to Toll Gate.

The arboretum was acquired in 2019, and the process continues to come along today as volunteers get together to continue enhancing the arboretum.

The school district which embraced the idea of the arboretum has worked with Pennington to incorporate the arboretum in the Toll Gate Education Plan.

During the dedication, Joann Held, a member of Pennington Enviornmental Commission, read remarks from Kieran John, chair of the Enviornmental Commission, who was out of the country.

“This arboretum is a wonderful addition to Pennington,” John wrote. “It is a space that honors Eileen Heinzel’s legacy and a space that speaks to our borough deep commitment to nature, education and community.

“Last year, the Environmental Commision applied for a second grant from ANJEC with the goal of enhancing the arboretum and helping people of all ages engage more deeply with the natural world around them and was grateful for the second grant as well.”

John noted that the vision was to make the arboretum a place that was welcoming, educational and interactive whether someone is a student, nature lover, or someone simply looking to enjoy a walk among native trees and plants.

An interactive QR code system has been created where QR code plaques will be placed near native New Jersey trees and shrubs that already exist in the arboretum along the arboretum path. This was a partnership with Will Carter and Scouts of Troop 22, and Kieran’s son Jaihan John.

Using your phone, people will be able to see and discover fun, informative pages, on the different plants and trees. The QR code plaques will start appearing over the summer.

“Another contribution is the construction and installation of two sturdy; crafted bulletin boards now located near the Curlis Avenue and Welling Avenue entrances,” John added. “They will serve as welcoming landmarks for the arboretum featuring an introduction to the arboretum, description of the QR code system and tribute to Eileen and her incredible service to the borough.

“There will plantings of a selection of native New Jersey flowers and shrubs around the bulletin boards and entrance signs thanks again to the ANJEC grant.”

John said the arboretum is not a finished product. “It is a living growing space that will continue to evolve just like nature itself. Our plans for it will unfold over time, through the seasons, and through the ideas, work and care of this community.”

For the dedication, a joint legislative resolution by New Jersey State Sen. Shirley Turner (D-15) was read by Mayor Jim Davy and presented at the dedication and to the Heinzel family.

Davy called Eileen Heinzel the quintessential public servant. He said there are three key areas of her professional career and her life and her as a human being that stands out in the area of public service.

“One, Eileen’s unwavering integrity and dedication,” he said. “Eileen approached every responsibility with genuine commitment to the Pennington community she served, and she loved.

“She understood that true public service meant being a steward of the public trust and always placing citizens needs above personal interest.”

The second was Eileen’s principled leadership and ethical stance. He said she demonstrated the rare combination of compassionate pragmatism and principled decision making, where she navigated complex challenges while maintain transparency and accountability.

She always earned respect from everyone that came into contact with her through her careful deliberations and her unwavering ethical stance, Davy added.

“Legacy and public service excellence – Eileen embodied public service as both a calling and a craft treating every constituent interaction as an opportunity to strengthen Democratic bonds leaving a standard of excellence that will continue to inspire future public service everywhere.”

Former Mayor Joe Lawver said the dedication recognizes Eileen’s hard work to make the arboretum a reality, noting her as a “generous, genuine, caring” woman, who would do anything for you without asking.

“She never thought of herself first,” he said describing his loyal friend. “She always thought about what was best for the people that live in the community and that this is going to impact.

“So, to see us do something like this where she gets to be honored for life for all of her service is just remarkable. I appreciate all the work that Kit Chandler has done, and the Environmental Commission has done to make this happen.

“…The hole she leaves in the community is big and her memory lives large in our hearts.”