Obituary of William H. Hetfield

William Harmon Hetfield died unexpectedly in Plainfield on Monday, January 11, 2010. Mr. Hetfield, son of the late George F. and Jane Harmon Hetfield, was born in Plainfield on July 17, 1940. After graduating from the Pingry School and the University of Miami, he spent a year traveling around the world before returning in 1964 to Plainfield, where he founded his real estate appraisal and consulting business in 1971. He was a member of the Appraisal Institute and was active in commercial real estate. Recently, he expanded his real estate interests to Imperial Beach, CA, where he was happy tending his garden and enjoying a new home. Bill Hetfield was a passionate advocate for Plainfield, spearheading the historic preservation movement in the 1970s and 80s and founding both the Crescent Historic District and North Avenue District. As a member of the Planning Board, he was instrumental in writing the city's Historic District ordinance. He took pride in renovating and maintaining five Victorian buildings in Plainfield. In 1997, Mr. Hetfield was the Republican candidate for Mayor of Plainfield. An accomplished and dedicated Toastmaster, Bill was a member of Toastmasters of Westfield for over 20 years, serving as President and Area Governor. He attained the Advanced Toast Master distinction and enjoyed encouraging and mentoring new members. From an early age, Bill was an avid golfer, becoming Junior Club Champion at Plainfield Country Club and eventually Club Champion at 21 years of age. As Captain of the golf team at Pingry, Bill was a member of two Union County Conference championship teams, as well as winning the County individual title his junior year. Bill had a life-long love of the outdoors, especially the shore, spending summers in Mantoloking, NJ, Cape Cod and Coronado, CA. His bicycling and beach jogs were a source of great joy. He was a devoted and loyal husband, father, brother and uncle. Bill loved joining his relatives, the Jacksons of Vail, CO and the Mitchells of Bridgeport, CT, every June in Cape Cod. He is survived by his wife of 37 years, Lisa Mitchell Hetfield, and his son William Thayer Hetfield of San Francisco. He is also survived by his sister Liza Hetfield Butler and her husband Harry Butler of Coronado, CA. A memorial service will be held at Higgins Home for Funerals on 209 West Eighth St. in Plainfield Sunday, January 17th. Visitation will be from 1:00PM to 2:30PM with a service beginning at 2:30 PM. In lieu of flowers, donations may be given in Bill's memory to the financial aid fund at The Pingry School, Office of Alumni & Development, P.O. Box 366, Martinsville, NJ 08836.