A Lifetime, A Legacy: Kim Rea Park
Kim Rea Park was a force for fun and more in Stone Harbor. In a wider world plagued with division, Ms. Park had a knack for bringing people in town together face-to-face for events and on her social media platform Stone Harbor Peeps Only.
Ms. Park suffered gracefully with type 1 diabetes for 33 years. Complications of that challenging disease led to her sudden death at 59 in the privacy of her home on Nov. 18, 2023.
Born in Pittsburgh and raised in Bucks County, Ms. Park first came to Stone Harbor as a youngster with her family during the summer season. In her high school and college years, she spent her summer breaks working at Bud’s Market.
While a student at William Tennent High School in Warminster, Pa., Ms. Park played the flute and was a member of the school’s marching band. An avid reader, she graduated from her beloved Duke University in Durham, N.C., in 1985.
Fresh out of Duke, John Wanamaker Department Store hired Ms. Park to be a manager in its Oxford Valley (Pa.) store, says Ms. Park’s mother Nancy Schaffer. Back then, “Wanamaker’s recruited people out of college” to work in their stores, she adds.
Laboring in retail did not appeal to Ms. Park. So, she took a job working for the Chubb insurance company in 1987. As an underwriter there, Ms. Park determined if applicants were eligible for Chubb insurance after evaluating various factors and pricing the insurance if the applicants were approved.
As an appraiser for Chubb, Ms. Park determined the value of various insured items, including property. “Kim appraised the most expensive homes, antiques, classic cars and artwork” for Chubb, before retiring from the company in 2018 after 30 years, her mother recalls.
Throughout her working years, Ms. Park spent as much time as possible in Stone Harbor, commuting to and from her other home in Philadelphia’s Manayunk neighborhood. In 2021, the native-at-heart sold her house in Manayunk and relocated full-time to her home in Stone Harbor.
“Kim could not wait to be a townie,” Schaffer says of her daughter.
Ms. Park’s selfless efforts to uplift the spirit of the community are many. She launched her Stone Harbor Peeps Only Facebook page in 2012, says Jackie Mauro who now serves as Peeps’ “admin.” “Kim started Peeps all on her own,” Mauro says. Never mind that her close friend Kim “did not have a smartphone at the time and was not computer savvy,” she adds.
The site was designed for informational purposes, like updates on storms and notifications of lost pets, Mauro explains. Furthermore, Ms. Park envisioned an online platform to serve an exclusive group of people by her invitation only. So much for that plan. Peeps grew. Mauro first came on board as a volunteer during the website's growth spurt. Seven years after its launch, Peeps counted 4,000 members. Today, there are 15,000 Stone Harbor Peeps.
“No one expected it to be such a hit,” Mauro says. Other groups, like 7 Mile Shenanigans on Facebook, branched off from Stone Harbor Peeps Only, she adds.
Ms. Park's contributions to Stone Harbor Peeps are sorely missed, Mauro muses. “Kim was a great writer” whose works were funny, witty, and filled with puns.
The “unofficial queen of Stone Harbor” was more than an inviting online presence.
“Kim was the first person to welcome newcomers into town,” Mauro says.
Once people met her daughter, they were included in all Stone Harbor events, Schaffer adds.
“Kim was always trying to rally people around something,” reminisces another close friend, Stone Harbor Mayor Judy Davies-Dunhour, aka Mayor Judy. The mayor first met Ms. Park decades ago while socializing with friends at PJ Ryan’s.
“Whatever was happening, Kim was smack in the middle of it,” Davies-Dunhour notes.
Schaffer, Mauro, and Mayor Judy all recall Ms. Park’s endless enthusiasm for the annual Stone Harbor Shiver in March.
“She loved that Shiver!” says the mayor, before noting Ms. Park’s role as Shiver Queen along with Shiver King Angelo Caracciolo in 2015.
Ms. Park could be counted upon to rally 15 to 20 people for her Shiver group, create the group’s theme and compose the song they performed at the event, her loved ones say.
In 2016, when the controversy about the replacement of wooden electric poles with steel electric poles in Stone Harbor was in full swing, Ms. Park and company showed up for Shiver as “The Electric Company.” Schaffer remembers costumes with hard hats and yellow vests. Mayor Judy remembers electric pole costumes. Another year, Ms. Park created an “Old Stone Harbor” theme for her group, complete with a colorful Hahn’s Restaurant sign that was a shuffleboard in memory of Hahn’s shuffleboard table, recalls her mom wistfully.
Plus, her pal managed the “Grape Stomping” event in the Savor September Festival and get togethers for various sporting events at Fred’s Tavern, Mayor Judy says. Ms. Park also costumed her friends for St. Patrick’s Day and other events. “Kim had a room in her house filled with glittery dresses, boas” and accessories for all occasions, the mayor notes.
In addition to specializing in costuming for events, Ms. Park purchased a classic red with black top Mercedes Benz convertible that she dubbed “the Parade Car.” The Parade Car made appearances in many local events. The mayor was sometimes a passenger, she says.
Ms. Park was not just a Peeps person. She also had a heart full of love for animals.
Her friend was really fond of Jack Russell Terriers, says Mayor Judy, who is the director at the Cape May County Animal Shelter. “Kim had three Jack Russells at one time, and two – Rocky and Chubbs – when she passed away,” Davies-Dunhour says. All were rescued dogs that Ms. Park adopted. “Kim took on the difficult ones, like Rocky,” she adds before noting that the Pennsylvania home found for Kim’s cherished Rocky and Chubbs was a good one.
The Stone Harbor Museum also benefited from Ms. Park’s enthusiasm for the borough and its history. In 2019, Ms. Park became the museum director.
“Kim was very friendly” and had a wonderful way with visitors on the floor, says Teri Fischer, president of the Stone Harbor Museum’s board of trustees. “She loved to share Stone Harbor’s history with visitors and guide them through the museum’s collection of books” that address specific historic themes. Ms. Park had a special interest in Stone Harbor’s historic Stone Court bungalows, built between 1914 and 1917, because she lived in one, Fischer adds.
This generous spirit who brought so much cheer to town now plays a role in the story of Stone Harbor’s history. Says Mayor Judy: “Kim was a very big part of our little town.”
