PLAINSBORO: Firefighter remembered for his service

By Allison Musante, Staff Writer
   PLAINSBORO — Of the many things that firefighter Jeff Pryor was in his life, his sister Cindy Kim remembers him most as a wonderful uncle to her 9-year-old daughter, Lauren.
   ”As far as being a good brother, he was a good uncle, and I couldn’t ask for more,” she said.
   Ms. Kim said that every year since Lauren was born, Mr. Pryor would come to their Georgia home for her birthday.
   ”At the party, he would be the one carrying her around all the time,” she said. “Even when she turned 9, she let him because it’s what she wanted. He even took her trick-or-treating sometimes. She adored him. That’s the biggest loss for me.”
   An honored lifetime member of the Plainsboro Volunteer Fire Company and employee of Plainsboro Township’s Department of Public Works for 25 years, Mr. Pryor passed away on May 20 at the age of 50.
   He lived his life in Plainsboro until moving to Hamilton Square five years ago, but he remained an active member of the company. Ms. Kim said it was only fitting that Mr. Pryor’s memorial service and funeral took place at the firehouse, as she recalled the many joys of his work despite never marrying or having children.
   ”Part of his job was to put together the fire trucks and all the specifics for each, and he had great passion for it,” Ms. Kim said. “His favorite trucks were the Ladder 49 truck and the Squad 49 truck. They were his babies. His wife was the company. His children were the trucks.”
   Fire Chief Doug Vorp said the company would remember Mr. Pryor for always helping others in a pinch.
   ”He was the kind of person that if you needed something, you could count on him to be there,” he said. “He would give 110 percent of himself to the best of his ability. He will be missed very much.”
   He said Mr. Pryor responded to thousands of calls in his 34 years of service.
   ”Jeff was a very dependable guy,” Chief Vorp said. “As a firefighter, he was equally dependable. He was an important part of our operation, having been around so long. He will definitely be missed.”
   ”He took great pride in being certified in many types of emergency services,” Ms. Kim added. “He wanted to be well versed in whatever the company might need in any situation.”
   In a lifetime of service, Mr. Pryor was also a military police officer in the Army.
   ”He was a very unassuming, matter-of-fact person,” Ms. Kim said. “He wasn’t one who needed to be noticed — that’s not why he served his community. It was just innate to who he was.”
   Mr. Pryor is survived by his mother, Evelyn, his sisters, Lisa and Cindy, his brother, Edward, his niece, Lauren, and his nephew, Michael. He was predeceased by his father, Edward, and his great grandfather, Jacob Hults, who was a founding father of the Township of Plainsboro.