Betsy Poinsett Betsy Poinsett, 73, a longtime resident of Allentown who was involved in many community groups and projects, died on Feb. 21 at Penn Hospice at Rittenhouse, Philadelphia.
Poinset was a resident of Newtown, Pennsylvania, at the time of her death.
Poinsett, who was a native of Nebraska, moved to Trenton with her family in 1953 and graduated from Trenton Central High School in 1961, according to information provided by the Peppler Funeral Home, Allentown.
After her wedding in 1963 to Jacques M. Poinsett, they moved from Bordentown to Allentown in 1973, where Poinsett developed her passion for American history, antiques and Newfoundland dogs.
Poinsett was very active in community and Republican Party activities in and around Allentown. She was a longtime member of and chaired the Allentown- Upper Freehold Historical Society, the Allentown Historic Preservation Review Commission and the Crosswicks Creek- Doctors Creek Watershed Association.
Poinsett was a member of the Monmouth County Historical Commission; a founding member of the Old Yellow Meeting House in Upper Freehold Township; and was a working supporter of Heritage Park, Allentown.
Among her accomplishments, Poinsett spearheaded the cleanup of the Allentown Mill Pond (Conine’s Pond) and the establishment of the lakeside park; she succeeded in having Allentown listed as a historic district on the New Jersey and national registers of historic sites; she persuaded a local bank to fund a comprehensive historic home survey, resulting in the presentation of historic plaques to many area homes; and she led an effort to renovate and reuse the old Baptist church on Main Street for the Allentown Public Library.
Poinsett held positions with Mercer County employers, including the Rednor and Ranier Auto Dealership; the law firm Sterns, Herbert and Weinroth; Dr. Steven Goldsmith; and the New Jersey Department of Human Services, from which she retired in 2009.
Poinsett was a member of the First Presbyterian Church, Trenton, and later the Allentown Presbyterian Church.