Harry J. Banker, 90,
Arbor Day champion

Because Harry J. Banker spent most of his early childhood in Newark in the 1920s, he jumped at the chance to go to summer camp with the Boy Scouts even though he had to work in the kitchen to earn his keep.

After three summers at Camp Mohegan in Sussex County, Mr. Banker fell in love with fresh air and the outdoors.

"He didn't know trees from Adam," said his son, Thomas Banker. "With the escape from the hardness of the urban environment, he understood how important a natural setting was."

So important that Harry Banker turned his love for trees and the outdoors into a career and cause, organizing a campaign that led to 23 states, including New Jersey, to legally recognize Arbor Day as the last Friday in April.

Although he fell short of his goal of getting Arbor Day permanently recognized as a national holiday, it was Mr. Banker's persistence that led four U.S. presidents to mark Arbor Day with proclamations.

Mr. Banker, a certified tree expert and West Orange resident, died Tuesday after a long illness. He was 90.

"He was involved in all the facets of arboriculture. His persistence in trying to upgrade the profession was ongoing," said Bill Porter, president of the New Jersey Shade Tree Federation.

Mr. Banker's wife of 60 years, the late Patricia Vadnais, got him involved in the profession when she introduced him to the head of the F.P. Bartlett Tree Expert Co. in Orange during the Great Depression. Mr. Banker got a job by offering to work for commissions.

Later, Mr. Banker started his own horticultural and appraisal companies, Trees Inc. and Banker & Company, and was the first person in the state to serve as president of all the recognized arborist groups. In 1985, Mr. Banker was elected president of the International Society of Arboriculture, one of the largest professional groups for the tree industry.

But Mr. Banker is perhaps best-known for his drive to get Arbor Day recognized as a national holiday. "Arbor Day was about clean air, clean water and the contribution of trees," said his son, Thomas Banker.

Arbor Day began in Nebraska in 1872, with much of the focus on planting trees and educating about their importance. Numerous states soon followed with Arbor Day celebrations but on different dates. Harry Banker, together with fellow arborist Ed Scanlon of Ohio, formed the Committee for a National Arbor Day in 1948.

"My father was not a political guy. He never worked on campaigns and he was too cheap to make donations. But he would work on politicians until they asked: 'How do I get you off my back?'" Thomas Banker said.

Harry Banker embarked on letter-writing campaigns, even enlisting the pens and paper of schoolchildren in his effort. But it wasn't only the big, national campaigns that got him going.

In West Orange, where Mr. Banker lived for decades, the township always called on him for advice about its trees. He also helped coordinate an Arbor Day program in the township's schools.

"He reminded me of a giant, stately oak tree. He had a great love for trees and recognized their beauty and value," said Sam Spina, the mayor of West Orange from 1978 to 1998.

Mr. Banker is survived by four children, Harry P. Banker of Florham Park, Joan M. Trivane of Edgewater, Md., Patricia A. DeSantis of West Orange and Thomas A. Banker of West Caldwell; 10 grandchildren and six great-grandchildren.

Viewing will be from 2 to 4 and 7 to 9 p.m. today at the Dangler Funeral Home, 340 Main St., West Orange. A funeral Mass will be held at 9:30 a.m. tomorrow at Our Lady of Lourdes Church, 1 Eagle Rock Ave., West Orange. Burial follows at Gate of Heaven Cemetery, East Hanover.

Donations in Mr. Banker's memory may be made to The Tree Fund, 1400 W. Anthony Drive, Champagne, Ill. 61821.