"She Was My Friend"

Jocelyn Pringley served the city of Plainfield for 33 of her 51 years and many, many people mourn her untimely death.

As Zoning Officer and head of the Inspections Division, she dealt with people in every part of the city. This writer always found her to be intelligent and fair in all her dealings.

At Monday’s agenda session, Flor Gonzalez gave a special tribute on behalf of the Hispanic community.

“We feel the Hispanic community has lost a very important friend,” Gonzalez said.

She described Jocelyn as “an open person” who never closed her door to Hispanics, even though others let the language barrier get in their way.

“She always helped with any problem we had,” Gonzalez said.

Gonzalez related a personal situation where she tried to blockade her basement door after a break-in. Jocelyn took account of her feelings, but also guided her to obeying the property code by unblocking the door.

“She was my friend for 27 years,” Gonzalez said. “When you come to City Hall, you want to have friends, not enemies.”

Services will be 10 a.m. today (Tuesday, Nov. 21, 2006) at Mt. Zion AME in Plainfield.

--Bernice Paglia