Camden pauses to remember late mayor Randy Primas

By the time all the dignitaries, friends, and others close to former Camden Mayor Melvin R. "Randy" Primas Jr. arrived at his funeral Friday, most were done mourning.

Friday's ceremony, which started with a two-hour viewing and concluded with a 90-minute "home-going" service at St. John Baptist Church in East Camden, featured more laughs than tears.

It was a reunion for current and former politicians, clergy and residents. People hugged and waved from opposite sides of the church, which was filled with nearly 1,000 people.

"I wanted to pay my respects and see if I ran into any old friends. And I did," said Collingswood resident Jewell Johnson, who graduated from Camden's Woodrow Wilson High in 1967, the same year as Primas.

The tissue in her hand was for her allergies, she said.

"I don't come to mourn," Johnson said, adding that she had enjoyed the day's celebration of Primas' life.

Primas, 62, died March 1 of complications of bone-marrow cancer at a hospital in Chapel Hill, N.C. The Camden native lived in Fort Mill, S.C., at the time.

In 1981, he became the first African American elected mayor of Camden. Primas, a Democrat, served three terms as mayor and in 1990 was appointed by Gov. James J. Florio to be commissioner of the state Department of Community Affairs.

A decade later, he came back to Camden City Hall as its state-appointed chief operating officer following Trenton's takeover of the city. He retired in 2006.

People from every chapter of Primas' life packed St. John's on Friday morning.

One section of the church was full of Primas' family - his wife, Bonnie, sons Melvin and Wilson, his two sisters, and dozens of other relatives.

In the side pews sat City Council and school board members. In the rear of the middle section was Camden Mayor Dana L. Redd with some of her department heads. A couple of rows behind Redd, Florio sat next to Camden County Freeholder Jeffrey Nash and county Democratic power broker George E. Norcross III, chairman of Cooper Health System. U.S. Rep. Robert E. Andrews (D., N.J.) was nearby.

"Randy made it possible for Camden to come back," Andrews said later. "I don't think the city would be here if it were not for Randy."

Primas left his mark in Camden through various redevelopment projects he initiated or supported. Some were good, some not so good, depending on whom you ask.

He was behind the building of the aquarium and much of the waterfront. But he was criticized for supporting the controversial Cherokee redevelopment plan for the Cramer Hill section, which was to include upscale waterfront homes, marinas, and a golf course. The project, which was scuttled, would have displaced hundreds of residents through eminent domain.

Then there are the accomplishments that many pass or use on a daily basis not knowing they were Primas' doing, said Philip DeShields, 60, of North Camden.

"The Boys and Girls Club [of Camden County] . . . that will be here forever," said DeShields, one of the many attendees who said his family was close to the Primases.

Primas was eulogized as a precocious activist. After graduating from Howard University in 1971, he joined the Black People's Unity Movement and fought for racial equality in Camden. He was elected to Council at 23.

"Think of the 23-year-olds you know," St. John Baptist pastor the Rev. Silas Townsend instructed the crowd. "How many would you want governing your city?"

People laughed, and Townsend continued with stories about Primas' being a role model for young people, not just as a leader but also in how he put family first.

When his father could no longer drive, Primas took over his ritual of bringing a bag of candy to Townsend, the family's longtime pastor.

Except that instead of a sandwich bag with a few sweets, the younger man brought him what Townsend said was probably a two-year supply.

Primas' cousin Robert Collins Jr., who grew up in Pennsauken, told stories of going to Camden to hang out with Primas and putting on performances for the family, which were often taped and watched years later.

"He was the eternal optimist. He was always upbeat," Collins said.

With so many showing their respects for Primas on Friday morning, official Camden pretty much came to a standstill. In addition to the mayor and her staff, Camden's top firefighters and police officers attended.

A U.S. flag hung from a Camden Fire Department ladder truck close to the entrance of the church, and two dozen police officers were in the funeral detail that controlled traffic along Federal Street and the motorcade that accompanied the casket to Camden's Harleigh Cemetery.

"I wanted to make sure the former mayor got a proper send-off," said Police Chief Scott Thomson, who stood in line to salute Primas' casket as it entered the hearse for the trip to Harleigh.