December 2, 2025

John (Jack) Conrad Worrell Jr. of Lincoln University

John (Jack) Conrad Worrell, Jr., 69, died on Tuesday, Nov. 25, at his home in Lincoln University, surrounded by his family. He was the husband of Janet Boyd Worrell, with whom he shared 43 years of marriage. They met while working in the U.S. Senate in 1979; were married in April 1982, in Washington, D.C.; and lived in Arlington, Virginia, and the Shenandoah Valley before relocating to southern Chester County in 1993. Jack was born in Philadelphia and was the son of the late John Worrell Sr. and the late Elizabeth Smith Worrell.

John Conrad Worrell Jr.

Jack graduated from Prospect Park High School in 1973, where he played soccer, ran track, and played in the high school band. He attended Penn State University, where he was a member of Pi Kappa Phi fraternity and earned his degree in Political Science in 1977. He continued his postgraduate studies at Indiana State University, which led to an internship in Washington, D.C. for Senator Richard Lugar and employment at the Library of Congress and the US House of Representatives.

Throughout his career, Jack was a keen observer of government and politics, working initially as a political consultant and later as a self-employed federal contract procurement specialist.

Throughout his life, Jack was an avid sports enthusiast, coaching his children’s youth sports teams, and was a devoted fan of Penn State football. He enjoyed the adventure and educational benefits of travel to destinations both new and revisited. He especially enjoyed scuba diving, pickleball, theater, and backyard bonfires with friends. He was a lifelong reader with diverse interests in history, music, sports, and foreign affairs.

In addition to his wife, Janet, he is survived by his son, John III; his daughter, Alexandra (GraemeBirrell); his sister, Lillian (William Hall); nephews, Craig and Jeffrey Hall; sister-in-law, Jeanne Boyd; nephews, Greg and Nick Boyd; niece, Amanda Boyd Clark; his brother-in-law, Robert (Kimberly)Boyd; and two granddaughters, Charlotte and Amelia Worrell.

A private service will be held for immediate family, with an informal gathering in celebration of Jack’s life to be announced at a later date.

Contributions in Jack’s memory may be made to one’s favorite charity, a local YMCA, or community library.

Arrangements are by Grieco Funeral Home & Crematory, Inc. of Kennett Square (484-734-8100). To view his online obituary, please visit www.griecofunerals.com.

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Duer Pierce Jr. of Kennett Square

Duer Pierce Jr., 99, of Kennett Square, died Saturday, Nov. 15, at Linden Hall- Friends Home in Kennett Square. He was the husband of the late Norma Louise Fetty Pierce, with whom he shared 46 years of marriage, and the late Edna Bennett Pierce, with whom he shared 25 years of marriage. Born in Kennett Square, he was the son of the late Augustus Duer Pierce Sr. and the late Beatrice Nute Pierce.

Duer Pierce Jr.

With his brother, Donald Pierce, Bud started The Financial House in Centreville, Del. He was dedicated to his clients and didn’t retire until he was 92. His favorite quote was, “Success is never owned. Success is rented, and the rent is due every day!

Bud was a dedicated Penn State Alumna, graduating in 1950 with a degree in Animal Husbandry. It was there that he met his first wife, Norma Louise Fetty. He was a member of Penn State’s Soccer & Lacrosse Teams, where he lettered in Lacrosse his senior year. With his love for Penn State Lacrosse, he established a lacrosse scholarship.

Faith, family, friends, and a lifetime commitment of hard work while serving his community were at the center of Bud’s life. He was a long-time member of the Kennett Square Lions Club and served on numerous boards, including the Kennett High School Board. A highlight of his life was running with the Olympic Torch after being nominated as a “community hero” by the United Way of Chester County.

Bud and his second wife, Edna, enjoyed wide travel in the U.S. and abroad, and, closer to home, to Penn State football games. Edna felt blessed to have been married to such a supportive and wonderful partner.

Bud’s surviving family include his son, A. Duer Pierce, III; his daughters, Felice Ann Pierce and Laurie Pierce Lincoln; and his wife, Edna’s children, Karl E. Bennett & Kristin Anderson Bennett; Linda Bennett Frick & Charles J. Frick, Jr; David E. Bennett; Susan Bennett Hoopes & Albert Winner; Carol I. Bennett; and Alice Bennett Messick; 15 beloved grandchildren; 10 adored great-grandchildren; as well as many dear cousins, nieces, and nephews.

You are invited to visit with Bud’s family and friends from 9:30 to 10:30 a.m. on Thursday, Jan. 15, at the Episcopal Church of the Advent, 401 N. Union St. Kennett Square, PA 19348. His Life Celebration Memorial Service will follow at 10:30. Interment will be held privately. In honor of Bud’s Penn State pride, please dress in your favorite blue and white outfit or your nicest Penn State attire. Contributions in his memory may be made to Kennett Education Foundation to continue funding of the scholarship in Bud’s name, The A Duer “Bud” Pierce Jr. Award. https://www.kennetteducationfoundation.org/fund-a-scholarship

Arrangements are by his longtime Penn State friend and Blue Band Trumpeter, Matt Grieco, of Grieco Funeral Home & Crematory, Inc. (484-734-8100) of Kennett Square. To view his online tribute and to share a memory with his family, please visit www.griecofunerals.com.

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Businesses offer holiday specials

Caitlin Michner, owner of The Naked Lady, is offering holiday themed workshops at her shop in the Barn Shops of Chadds Ford.

Several local businesses in Chadds Ford Township are offering some special ideas on merchandise and events during the holiday season.

According to Jackie Tate, owner of The Right Tough Engravers, the shop will be offering a free personalized wooden ornament with a $50 purchase.

“We will create a custom wood ornament. For example, people will ask if we can put their logo on the ornament, or can make it the shape of a paw, or something like that. We’ll create one and give them a free setup. There’s normally a charge to set up the logo or create the custom shape,” Tate said.

The free setup is free if the customer orders 10 or more ornaments, she added.

Tate also said they will offer a sale this month on holiday-themed 500-piece puzzles. They are $20 each (discounted from $25) and 2 for $35.

Additionally, the Shops at the Chadds Ford Plaza, where Right Touch is located, the businesses in the center donated 260 pounds of food to the Kennett Food Bank.

Farther down Route 1 in the Barn Shops, Tess Wofford of Oso Sweet Bakery, and Caitin Michner of The Naked Lady have their own activities planned.

Wofford said her shop just “came off the biggest Thanksgiving ever. I never made so many pies in my life,” she said. “So, I’m really excited about Christmas.”

She spoke about her shop’s new annex, in the building behind Oso Sweet, which has been used just for additional seating, but there are many possible uses for the space.

One of the ideas is that Wofford will have a Christmas market in the space.

“It will run Friday, Saturday, and Sunday every weekend up until Christmas,” she said.

The market will be used to showcase some Oso Sweet’s branded items, such as bandanas and coasters, hats and beanies, plus T-shirts. There are also some Oso Sweet playing cards that have bears instead of jokers.

“My mom made them, and they’re very cute.”

But basically, Woffard said she’s easing into the holiday season with a few possible ideas for the season.

She’s also planning a 12 Days of Christmas special for Oso before Christmas.

“We’re going to do a different specialty every day, like a discount on an item for when we release a new product or a new specialty latte or something like that,” Wofford said.

The 12 days will run from Dec. 13 through Dec. 24. There will also be a gingerbread workshop on Dec. 13 from noon to 4 p.m.

“People of all ages can come in. We’ll have pre-built gingerbread houses, lots of candy and frosting, and things for decoration.”

Next door to Wofford’s annex is The Naked Lady, so named for a flower, the Naked Lady Lily, that owner Caitlin Michner saw while living in the Ozarks in Arkansas. She thought it was a gorgeous flower and decided to name her shop after it.

Michner describes her shop, which she opened two years ago, as a “gallery that focuses on promoting local handmade arts as opposed to reproductions.”

All the artwork and the clothing are made from natural, sustainable materials.

For the holiday season, Michner said there will be one large collective event on every second Saturday of the month, which will be Saturday, Dec. 13.

“I offer free vending space throughout the village, outside when the weather is good, and as much as we can cram inside when it’s not. I try to get the artists who have work in the shop already to come and do workshops and demos,” Michner said.

On Thursday and Friday, Dec. 11 and 12, and Sunday, Dec. 14 will be coming to do workshops. One artist will have a kids’ holiday craft make and take and another artist will be doing a real pressed flower Christmas ornament workshop, and another artist will be doing a Christmas-themed block-printing workshop at The Naked Lady.

After that will be a special holiday self-care workshop centered around crafting and artmaking “in a more therapeutic sense, as a way to self-soothe through the holidays,” she said.

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Taxes up in Birmingham

Taxes up in Birmingham

Birmingham Township supervisors made short work of their Dec. 1 agenda, but in the process voted to increase township property taxes. In a discussion on the 2026 budget, the board voted tio raise the property tax from 1.9 mils to 2.2 mils. (A mil is a tax of $1 for every $1,000 of assessed property value.)

The budget is otherwise balanced with revenues and expenses anticipated to be $2.068 million.

Other business

Supervisors also voted to increase compensation for future supervisors. They voted to increase compensation from $1,875 to $3,145. The increase will not affect the current board but will go into effect for anyone voted into office or reelected in 2027.

The action follows a law signed by Gov. Josh Shapiro, and Supervisors Chairman Scott Boorse said the figure is based on township size. Supervisors’ compensation of $1,875 has been in effect since 2012.

The board also voted to apply for a Department of Community & Economic Development grant for $25,000 to buy a new police patrol car in late 2026. According to Police Chief Tom Nelling, the new car will be fully equipped and cost $64,000.

Additionallysupervisors voted to make some changes for township consultants. The board to retain Pennoni Engineering for engineering, Building Inspection Underwriters as the township building inspector, and the firm of Clifton, Larson and Allen as the township’s auditing firm.

The board will reorganize on Monday, Jan. 5, per state law.

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