Ranger With ‘Heart As Big As The Parks’ Remembered

A longtime protector of Bucks County’s parks was remembered Friday during a memorial service at Core Creek Park.

Bucks County Ranger Thomas Booz, 64, of Bensalem, was remembered at the ceremony. He passed away at St. Mary Medical Center in Middletown Township from complications from COVID-19 after a weeks-long battle on Saturday, June 6.

Law enforcement from local and state agencies gathered at the county park in Middletown Township to remember the 32-year ranger who remained with the department through many changes.

Bucks County Rangers Chief Steve Mawhinney thanked all who gathered to remember Booz’s life.

District Judge Frank Peranteau Jr., who previously worked as a police officer and chief, had known Booz for years. He recalled that his friend was planning to retire this summer after years of mulling over it but was willing to delay it until the pandemic had ended. He felt it was his duty to keep serving the residents of Bucks County and users of the park system.

“Let’s see this thing through,” Peranteau said, quoting Booz.

In the end, the pandemic and complications from COVID-19 would claim the lawman’s life.

Bucks County General Services Director Kevin Spencer, whose department oversees the rangers, shared stories of Booz’s career.

In one story, Spencer said a ranger told him he took the job because he was so impacted by Booz’s work while interning with the agency that enforces the criminal code, park rules, and assists parkgoers. Another shared with Spencer a story of Booz buying Christmas presents for a homeless family two rangers were putting up in a hotel after finding them at a park.

Spencer noted Booz masterfully knew all the park boundaries and where municipal lines crossed through.

Booz didn’t just work in the parks, but he lived there too. Before moving to Bensalem with his wife, Judy, Booz resided at a county-owned house at Silver Lake Nature Center in Bristol Township for many years.

Booz had been with the department through many changes and the advent of new technology in policing, but he kept his charm, sense of humor, and street smarts, said those who knew him.

“Tom was a bit gruff,” Peranteau said, “but under that tough exterior was a heart as big as the parks.”

Booz lost his parents when he was young and he strayed a bit off the right track, Peranteau said, adding Booz straightened things out and came to live the law enforcement motto of “protect and serve.”

In addition to his duties as a county law enforcement official, Booz began working part-time as a security guard at the Trenton Thunder several years back. Peranteau, who also works part-time for the team, said he would jokingly stake out to catch Booz on his phone while he worked the ballpark.

Speaking to his commitment to family and co-workers, Booz’s stepdaughter, Melissa Colon, said the ranger always volunteered to work Christmas so his co-workers with young families could spend the day with their kids.

Booz and his wife planned to both be retired soon and wanted to put their feet up after years of working. They even had considered getting a bungalow at the shore to enjoy, Colon said.

Ethel “Sissy” Walsh, Booz’s sister, told the crowd that her brother, a Bristol native, learned to love the outdoors after spending some time in Carlisle during his youth.

“We’ll miss you, Tom, but we know heaven is now a better place,” she said.

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