Obituary of Peter Heffron

Dr. Peter J. Heffron, 80, a longtime resident of both Flemington, NJ and Scottsdale Arizona, passed away at the Amber Creek Inn Memory Care facility in Scottsdale on June 5, 2024. He will be buried in Flemington next to his first wife Louise K. (MacInnis) Heffron who previously passed on August 30, 1991.

He was born on October 2, 1943, in Brooklyn, NY and raised in Smithtown, NY on Long Island with his identical twin brother and had five other siblings. He went to college at St. Francis Xavier University in Antigonish, Nova Scotia, Canada where he met his first wife. They had one daughter, Margaret Ann (Heffron) Giles, who they raised in Flemington, NJ. She currently resides in Scottsdale; AZ having moved there in 1998. Peter had gone on to get his Master of Arts in Chemistry at State University of New York at Binghamton and his Doctor of Philosophy at State University of New York at Stony Brook. Peter was a chemist by profession, specifically organic chemistry, having last worked at Cyanamid in Somerville, NJ and Morton-Thiokol in Patterson, NJ, specializing in dyes, retiring early to Arizona in 2000. Prior to that move, Peter was active in the Flemington community working on the town council and was Chairman of the Board on the Board of Adjustment for many years, and for many years, vacations were to the family summer home in Terra Tory, Lanark, Nova Scotia. 

Peter loved a good cup of coffee. You could often bump into him at one of the former local diners in Flemington. He was a kind man, who loved telling a good joke, making people laugh, and offered a great smile. He always rooted for the underdog. 

On June 3, 2000, Peter remarried long time family acquaintance, Judith S. Lassman, of Flemington, NJ, who previously lost her husband in 1992. Peter and Judy became snowbirds between NJ and AZ for 23 years, being able to spend time with Judy’s three children and grandchildren on the east coast, and Peter’s daughter in Arizona. Each of the families had spent many years on bleacher seats as their respective daughters played sports together growing up. They traveled the world on cruises and took many longer adventurous driving trips throughout the USA. Peter loved playing golf and accumulated many golf jokes over the years for his group of friends annual golf dinner that he always emceed. Peter was an avid reader, stock market buff, and read the WSJ every day.

Peter is survived by his daughter, her three children Ryan Giles (Scottsdale, AZ), Mckerra Giles (Scottsdale, AZ), Colin Giles, (Burbank, CA), his wife Judy Heffron (Flemington, NJ); her three children Jennifer (& Dave) Halperin, Heather (& Kevin) Scammell, and Scott (& Katie) Lassman, and her six grandchildren. He is also survived by his twin brother James (& Carole) Heffron (Bluffton, SC), Christine O’Boyle (Savannah, GA), Debora (& Lars) Shaw (Largo, FL), and Gail (& Ed) Haley(Tucson, AZ). Peter was predeceased by his brother Leon Heffron (2004) and sister Mary Heffron (2000). 

Funeral services for Peter will include public visitation at 10am on Saturday, June 22, 2024, at Holcombe-Fisher Funeral Home, 147 Main Street, Flemington, NJ 08822, including a short service at 11:30 am on site. Interment will follow in Saint Magdalen Cemetery in Flemington NJ. Family and friends are invited to a buffet lunch, immediately following interment at 1pm, at the Chimney Rock Inn in Flemington, NJ.