Francis remembered for commitment to town
Plumsted committeeman was a key proponent of preserving rural look
BY MARK ROSMAN Staff Writer
Plumsted Deputy Mayor Kenneth H. Francis was remembered by Mayor Ron Dancer this week as a person who worked hard to preserve the municipality's quality of life.

Kenneth H. Francis

Francis, 48, a resident of Plumsted for 21 years, died after a battle with cancer on Sept. 29 at St. Francis Medical Center, Trenton. Funeral services for Francis were held Oct. 3 at the Tilghman Funeral Home, Main Street.

Francis served on the Township Committee for 16 years and was serving as Plumsted's deputy mayor at the time of his death.

He was a former member of the Planning Board and the Plumsted Township Municipal Utilities Authority. Francis was the township liaison for the fire company and the first aid squad.

In addition to his municipal service, Francis, who was born

Lawton, Okla., was an assistant scoutmaster for the Cub Scouts. He was a member of the Bordentown Baptist Church.

Dancer said Francis "served our community for 16 years on the Township Committee and was a voice and vote to keep Plumsted rural and affordable. Having served with Kenny on the Township Committee as well as the Planning Board, I can attest to his legacy as a man with a vision and conviction to save open space and farmland.

"Kenny was the driving force and vocal proponent to retain our rural character. In the early 1990s, I fondly remember Ken taking me to a hunting cabin (for a Saturday morning breakfast) off Hopkins Road and Ivins Drive in a beautiful wooded area of our township laced with blooming mountain laurel. Ken was emphatic that we needed to preserve woodlands, in addition to farmlands, and that was the birth of Plumsted's Woodlands Preservation Program.

"Today, as a testament to Ken's vision, Plumsted has preserved well over 3,000 farm and woodland acres from being developed forever," Dancer said.

"Not only is Plumsted indebted to Ken for his land conservation efforts, but for his fiscally conservative financial planning to keep township government debt free. It was Ken who would first and often admonish the committee to remain debt free and live within our means on a 'pay-asyou go' basis.

"To this day, the Township Committee does not have any bonded indebtedness. Ken was the chairman of the Building Committee for the township's first newly constructed municipal complex on Evergreen Road and under Ken's direction we did not build until we saved to keep us debt free," the mayor said.

"An even greater priority for Ken, other than saving our land, was the saving of lives. Ken was the Township Committee's representative to the first aid squad and the fire company. Ken was at the forefront to establish Plumsted's first full-time day coverage for first aid emergency responders. Ken worked together with our first aid squad to have private insurance companies, Medicare or Medicaid pay for the ambulance services, rather than patients or taxpayers being responsible for billings.

"Ken worked together with our fire company and fire district to establish the township's first firehouse building trust fund to receive the financial contributions of developers that needed to address fire protection measures prior to Planning Board approvals," Dancer said.

"Ken was a 'people person.' One cannot forget his passion for the youth of our community, serving as an assistant scoutmaster for the Cub Scouts and operating the New Egypt Recreation Oasis to provide family-oriented activities, including the paddle boats and canoes at Oakford Lake Park.

"Words cannot express, nor can eulogies or obituaries convey, the total positive impact of Ken's contributions to our community and enhanced quality of life. We won't fill his shoes, but we can follow his footprints. Kenny began preparing a path for Plumsted's future 16 years ago, and today we enjoy his visionary leadership as a lasting legacy," Dancer said.

Francis had been employed as an admissions representative for the Chubb Institute, New Brunswick, and was the former owner of the New Egypt Recreation Oasis.

Francis is survived by his wife, Maureen; his parents, Kenneth J. and Mildred A.; a son, Jake; a daughter, Katie, all of the New Egypt section of Plumsted; a brother and sister-in-law, J. Rodney and Lydia, of Bordentown; a sister and brother-in-law, Tracey and Jack Byrne, of Hornerstown; his nieces and nephews, Christie and Ryan Byrne, and Heather, Amanda, Victoria and Jonathan Francis; and by his good friends, Dave and Linda Leutwyler, of New Egypt.

Funeral services were held on Oct. 3 at the Tilghman Funeral Home with the Rev. Jay Rambo officiating. Interment was in Emley's Hill Cemetery, Cream Ridge.

Contributions in Francis' memory may be made to the Sidney Kimmel Comprehensive Cancer Center at Johns Hopkins (for pancreatic cancer research), One Charles Center, 100 North Charles Street, Suite 234, Baltimore, MD 21201 or to the New Egypt First Aid Squad, P.O. Box 368, New Egypt 08533.

The Plumsted Republican organization will submit the names of candidates to fill Francis' seat on the Township Committee and the members of the governing body will appoint an individual to the position.