From Peace Corps to pumpkin festivals: Remembering Terhune Orchards’ founder

🍎Gary Mount, longtime owner of Terhune Orchards in Princeton, has died at 81

🎄Mount transformed a 50-acre farm into a 250-acre agritourism destination

🍷A memorial is set for April 14 at the orchard

PRINCETON — The longtime owner of a Mercer County farm and orchard that had a significant impact on agritourism in New Jersey has died. He was 81.

Gary Mount, the owner of Terhune Orchards in Princeton, died on Monday.  He had glioblastoma brain cancer, according to an announcement on the orchard's website.

Open year-round, Mount and wife Pam bought the 50-acre farm in 1970 and grew it into a 250-acre retail farming operation.

Besides its pies, cider and wine, Terhune Orchards is also known for its festivals and events to commemorate the seasons including Halloween, Christmas, plus events like its annual Easter Bunny Trail, Blueberry Bash and Wassailing the Apple Trees in January.

The Princeton native graduated magna cum laude from Princeton University in 1966 and married Pam in 1967, according to his obituary.  After spending three years with the Peace Corps in Micronesia in the South Pacific, the couple returned home and bought a then-50-acre farm that would provide a career allowing them to spend time with their family. He is survived by two daughters who manage and operate the farm, a son and six grandchildren.

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Farmers markets mourn a beloved figure

Gary's impact on the farming and agriculture in Mercer County was remembered by two farmers' markets.

"Sad news for the local farming community. Gary was instrumental in the success of the Farmers Market. He will be missed greatly," the Trenton Farmers Market wrote on its Facebook page.

The West Windsor Community Farmers Market said Gary was a "tried and true favorite" who still came by to check on his crew and to help restock. They said Terhune would still be attending Saturday's market.

"A tried-and-true favorite at our market over the past fifteen+ years Gary’s innovation and commitment to farming, marketing, and agritourism is felt far and wide across our great state," the market wrote on its Facebook page.

A memorial service for Gary will be held on April 14 at 1:30 p.m.at Terhune Orchards. In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be made to New Jersey Horticultural Society Research Grants and International Fruit Tree Association Research.

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