Jocelyn Pringley, director of the city's Division of Inspections, passed away unexpectedly yesterday (Thursday, November 16, 2006).
A city employee for over thirty years, her position at the center of administering permits and code enforcement meant she was known to perhaps more people than even the most gregarious elected official.
Not always, of course, affectionately, but she took that in stride, understanding that doing her job sometimes brought her into conflict with residents and contractors looking for a shortcut.
A reader emailed me not long ago, asking why I was taking such a strong line defending Jocelyn on Plainfield Today. This reader knows that I had sometimes been critical of the Inspections Division's record in my years at City Hall.
The answer is simple. While I may have had issues with how Inspections performed at times, I never had a reason to think of Jocelyn as other than a valued city employee who did the best she could by her lights. And a friendly and helpful co-worker, to boot.
Doing the best she could certainly was not made easier by her treatment under the current Administration, about which I have written elsewhere (see "The simmering feud", "What ever happened to the 'Safe Homes' initiative?", "Inspections Division in open revolt", and "Another [phone] number of interest").
Jocelyn had many friends at City Hall and in the community. It is very sad to see her life cut short. PT is firmly of the opinion that the stresses of the past ten months or so played a role in her untimely death. She will be greatly missed.
My sympathy to her family.
-- Dan Damon
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1 comment:
Why hasn't the obituary been posted in the newspaper? I would have thought such a well known, and well liked person such as this would have at least had mention of her passing.
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