Princeton Police Chief Nicholas K. Sutter remembered that Ray Wadsworth was one of the first people from town he met as a police officer more than 20 years ago.
“He was just absolutely devoted to Princeton and Princeton’s livelihood,” said Sutter of Wadsworth, a former borough councilman, Princeton fire chief and community volunteer who died May 31.
Wadsworth’s wife, Jacqueline, said he had been very ill. Born May 29, 1938, he died two days after his 80th birthday.
Wadsworth, a native of Johnstown, Pa., was remembered for his commitment to Princeton, the community he came to when he was 18 years old.
It’s where he and his wife of 60 years raised their two children, where he worshiped at St. Paul’s Church, and where he worked and volunteered.
Wadsworth was a businessman who owned the Flower Market and Wadsworth Gourmet, he was a borough councilman and he was a volunteer firefighter for 55 years.
Mark Freda, a former borough councilman and current president of the Princeton First Aid and Rescue Squad, said he had come to know Wadsworth when he joined the fire department in 1974.
“I think his legacy is being upbeat, being very concerned for the town, doing a lot of things that benefited individuals in the town, but also the town overall,” Freda said. “There’s a lot of stuff Ray did for a lot of people, a caring guy who is probably the type of personality that’s not as common as it used to be, I’d say. I think he definitely reflects what Princeton used to be all about.”
Richard Woodbridge, a former Princeton Township mayor, was a volunteer firefighter at the same time Wadsworth was, although the two men were in different fire companies.
“Ray Wadsworth loved Princeton and probably put in more volunteer hours than anyone in recent history,” Woodbridge said. “His warm, enthusiastic and giving spirit will be missed.”
Wadsworth got involved in politics by serving one term as a Republican councilman in the former borough. Roger Martindell, a former borough councilman, served with Wadsworth and remembered his former colleague.
“He was certainly selfless in his commitment to the community,” Martindell said. “He was a cheerleader for Princeton. He was always gentlemanly and generous with his attention.”
In 1997, Wadsworth and Herb Hobler started Spirit of Princeton, an organization that organizes and sponsors patriotic-themed events in town, including an annual Memorial Day parade that Wadsworth’s illness kept him from attending last month.
Kam Amirzafar, a committeeman of the Spirit of Princeton, remembered Wadsworth as a doer who did not need the limelight.
“He cared about the community, he got involved in the community,” Amirzafar said. “He quietly goes around and has been involved in the community and done things to make it better. Not asking for any praise or anything, he’s just gotten it done.”
In more recent years, Wadsworth stepped forward when a plan to install a Sept. 11 memorial stalled. An atheists group planed to sue if a piece of the World Trade Center was put on government property because the steel beam had a cross out of it.
Wadsworth was working on a project to put the steel beam at St. Paul’s to create an outdoor memorial.
His concern for people extended outside the borders of Princeton. A few years ago, he bought, for $1, a 1982 fire truck from the town and donated it to a fire department in Nicaragua.
Princeton Police Officer Jorge Narvaez, a native of Nicaragua who was directly involved in that effort, said the truck has been used to fight fires and keep people alive.
“He had a heart of gold, he always cared for people,” Narvaez said of Wadsworth. “He didn’t even know that by his action, he saved lives in other countries (and) touched other people.”