Philadelphia lost a tremendous public servant and friend on Oct. 6 when Chris Van de Velde, 85, of Mt. Airy, died of age-related ailments. He died peacefully at home surrounded by his loving wife and daughters.
Van de Velde gave many decades of both professional and volunteer public service in the private, government, academic and nonprofit sectors. Van de Velde, whose Dutch surname means “of the fields,” served as volunteer general manager and project manager of Awbury Arboretum since 2010, shepherding the success of the free public garden and farm in Germantown.
In May of 2025, Van de Velde spoke to the Local with tongue in cheek about the benefits of being a volunteer. “After being out of town for a few days,” he said, “I’m now cleaning up at Awbury. Then I am heading out to play golf with the guys. It’s one of the advantages of being a ‘retired’ worker.”
On a more serious note, Van de Velde wanted readers of the Local to know how vital volunteering is for individuals and for nonprofit organizations in Philadelphia.
“From a personal perspective,” he said while announcing his quasi-retirement, “there has been the pleasure of keeping busy and ensuring that my mind is actively challenged every day. Professionally, it has enabled me to use and share much that I learned over 50 years of working and managing many different-sized organizations in many different fields.”
Heather Zimmerman, who worked with him at Awbury, succeeded him as director and is now with Historic Germantown, told the Local, “I am very grateful to Chris Van de Velde for his mentorship when he served as a volunteer executive director at Awbury. ...He had a ferocious energy to get things done. He had a gift for learning about each staff member and helping them to achieve their best in tune with their talents. He was a good listener and could fix just about anything. The arboretum was struggling to survive when Chris volunteered. Through his hard work, generosity and skilled leadership, Awbury now has a firm foundation to serve the community and preserve a beloved green space.”
Former Awbury board chair Mark Sellers added, “You can come to Awbury Arboretum and look in any direction and see the results of Chris’ ambition and imagination: the pavilions at the adventure woods and the farm, the education building, the wedding program, the magnificent restoration of the Awbury watercourse and pond. All of these efforts sprang from Chris’ mind.”
Van de Velde was born in 1941 in Hawaii and was 6 months old, living on the Naval Base at Pearl Harbor, when it was attacked by the Japanese, killing 2,335 service members and 68 civilians, according to the National Park Service, and drawing the United States into World War II. Van de Velde graduated from McPherson College (Kansas) in 1964 and in 1995 earned a master’s degree in governmental administration from the Fels Institute of Government at the University of Pennsylvania.
He worked in a variety of governmental and nonprofit capacities with a focus on community development, including for the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development in Philadelphia, then in New York during the administration of Mayor John Lindsay, and then as vice president of Franklin Town Corporation in Philadelphia, director of real estate for the University of Pennsylvania, and manager for Whitemarsh Township.
In 2010, as he moved toward retirement, Van de Velde took a “volunteer” position as director of Awbury Arboretum (for $1 a year) and remained at Awbury in various capacities for the next 15 years. He told many people that he started to volunteer at Awbury because he “flunked retirement.” His ability to untangle complex situations helped turn Awbury into the vibrant public garden it is today.
(Awbury Arboretum, which has 56 acres of woods, meadows, gardens, wetlands and agricultural fields, was founded in 1852 by Henry Cope, a Quaker shipping merchant and abolitionist as a summer retreat for his family. It is open 365 days a year. Cope named the property after Avebury, England, his ancestral village.)
For his efforts, he was honored at the 2025 Awbury al Fresco dinner, despite his reluctance. In his remarks that night, he noted, “I didn’t know anything about running an arboretum, but I was smart enough to know what I didn’t know and lucky enough to find good people who did.”
Branda O’Neil, Awbury’s deputy director, said at the dinner, “I’m glad for this excuse to recognize Chris. He has given Awbury the enormous gift of not only 15 years of volunteer leadership but also imagination, energy and vision that has transformed the arboretum. I have learned from his humility, his willingness to take risks with a sense of humor and his demonstrated love of this space and this community.”
Van de Velde also served on several boards, including the City Parks Association of Philadelphia, Friends of the Free Library of Philadelphia and Arcadia University.
He and his wife, Lee, were married for 48 years. They spent 35 years in West Mt. Airy before moving to upper Roxborough last year, raising their blended family of two daughters, Tamarack and Tara, and stepsons Graham and Alexander Robb.
In addition to his wife, daughters and stepsons, Van de Veld is survived by grandchildren Forrest, Murray, Lucy and Magdalena, and siblings Murray and Susan.
A memorial service will be held at a time to be announced. Donations may be made in Van de Velde’s honor to Awbury Arboretum and McPherson College.
Susan Schaefer and Len Lear contributed to this obituary. George McNeely can be reached at ghmcneely@gmail.com.
