‘Bright light in a dim room’
Veterans Park that late supervisor Jim Sinz helped establish gets grant
TOWAMENCIN >> He has been gone for almost a year now, but local officials in his native Towamencin will never forget Jim Sinz.
And township officials recognized the late veteran and supervisor with a special presentation to Sinz’s widow Jeanie earlier this month.
“He was willing to give his life for this country, as a pilot in the Navy, serving as he did. And then when he got out of the Navy, in his heart he still felt he needed to serve,” said Veterans Committee Chairman Michael Lewis.
Sinz was a U.S. Navy pilot starting in 1968, flying the P3 Orion in deployments to Vietnam, Bermuda and the Mediterranean, before working as an instructor pilot from 1973 through 1994, finishing his career with an assignment at the Naval Air Warfare Center in Warminster. It
was during that deployment that the Sinz family settled in Towamencin, where Jim was elected to a post as township supervisor in 2003, then served nearly three full six-year terms until his passing in May 2020 after a lengthy battle with brain cancer.
Lewis and vice chair Joe Meehan recalled Sinz and his dedication to the township at the start of the supervisors’ April 14 meeting, and how he looked to raise awareness, and show appreciation, for those in uniform.
“One of his ideas was revitalizing and bringing back the veterans committee, which he did as one of the founding members,” Lewis said.
“He was a bright light in a dim room sometimes. He had the intelligence and the know-how to help us keep moving, and he was an inspiration to every one of us.”
Thanks in large part to Sinz and his efforts, the Veterans committee established a permanent “Veterans Memorial Park” in honor of those who have served, and his friends and family held a vehicle parade festooned with American flags to honor Sinz and his service in April 2020, just weeks before his final battle ended.
On Veterans Day 2020, supervisors Chairman Chuck Wilson said, the committee held a ceremony at that park in memory of Sinz, and flew an American flag over the cemetery in his memory. That flag, and photos of that day and of Sinz speaking at a prior ceremony, were presented to his widow by the two committee members, “just to show how much we appreciated him, and everything he did for the country, and for us,” Lewis said.
Users of the park should take note of more good news: On April 21, state Rep. Liz Hanbidge, D-61st, announced a $25,000 grant for the township to develop a master plan for that park, located on Allentown Road just west of Forty Foot Road. The grant comes via the state Commonwealth Financing Authority’s Greenways, Trails and Recreation program and will be matched by $25,000 from the state’s Department of Conservation and Natural Resources.
“Accessible community parks help bring people together. Therefore, I’m excited to see how Towamencin Township will develop Veterans Memorial Park to make it an inviting and meaningful space for all,” Hanbidge said.
“After a year of social distancing, I’m sure many will welcome a place to safely gather with loved ones outdoors and celebrate those who served.”
After receiving the flag from the veterans committee members, Jeanie Sinz said her late husband “would think this was really neat,” and “loved being a supervisor,” despite the occasional joking threat to never run again.
“He ran for his second term, and then he said ‘That’s it, I’m done.’ They said ‘No, you have to run again,’ and it was like ‘Twist my arm,’ but he loved it,” she said.