Former Havre de Grace City Council member Joseph Kochenderfer has died.

Kochenderfer, 91, served several terms on the City Council: 1990-1998, 2000-2002 and 2007-2009.

In a social media post Monday, Havre de Grace Mayor William Martin described Kochenderfer as a humble man who was known for his integrity and commitment to public service.

Kochenderfer was born May 8, 1934 in Lewistown, Pennsylvania. He and his wife, Sara, married in 1956 and moved to Harford County in 1959, when he began working at Aberdeen Proving Ground.

He was a longtime advocate for the 1.5-mile North Park Loop Trail, which was named the Joe K Trail in his honor in 2004. He had worked with city officials and community volunteers to build and maintain the trail since 1997 and hosted community walks on the loop trail each year, telling visitors about the local history and the environmental features along the route, making a loop from the Lock House north to the CSX rail bridge and back.

Joanne Healey, executive director of the Lock House, said Kochenderfer was a mentor for many people. He worked the same shift as a volunteer at the museum every Sunday afternoon, rain or shine, retiring from his position only about one year ago. Kochenderfer volunteered at the museum for almost 30 years, serving as a museum docent and school group guide, Healey said.

“Though I only knew him for the last seven years of his journey, I was always in awe of the deeply ingrained civic engagement and tenaciousness this one person possessed,” Healey said in a tribute post on the Lock House museum’s website.

Kochenderfer was involved in many community organizations, including Scouting America; he was a committee member for Boy Scout Troop 967 for 32 years and assisted with youth soccer, girls basketball and girls softball programs.

During Kochenderfer’s time as a council member, he became known as a “champion of common-sense growth and development,” Martin said. In addition to his role on the council, Kochenderfer served on the city’s planning commission for 19 years, seven as chair.

In the 2016 interview with Bahoukas.net, which shares Havre de Grace history, Kochenderfer said he enjoyed being on the planning commission because it helped shape what Havre de Grace is and wants to be.

Kochenderfer was a military veteran who served with the 92nd Engineer Battalion, U.S. Army, at Fort Bragg, North Carolina, from 1954 to 1956. He graduated magna cum laude from Gettysburg College in 1958 with a bachelor’s degree in mathematics. He was a mathematician/manager in the Firing Tables Branch of the Launch and Flight Division from 1959 until he retired in 1988.

In addition to Sara, his wife of 69 years, he is survived by four children: Judith Glassman and husband Robert, Andrew Kochenderfer and wife Susan, Barbara Moore and husband Shonn, all of Havre de Grace; and Vance Kochenderfer of West Mifflin, Pennsylvania; six grandchildren and two great-grandchildren.

A visitation will be held on Friday, from noon-2 p.m., followed by a service at 2 p.m., at Zellman Funeral Home, 927 Pulaski Highway, Havre de Grace.

“I will always remember him as a very approachable man who exemplified the highest moral conduct,” Martin said in his social media post. “On behalf of the citizens of Havre de Grace, I would like to express our sincere condolences to the friends and family of Joseph Kochenderfer.”

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