Jere S. Heinze

Jere Shaffer Heinze, 82, of Boiling Springs, passed away peacefully on May 26, 2026, due to complications from Parkinson’s.

The youngest child of Charles and Mary Lucinda (Shaffer), Jere was born on March 1, 1944, in Carlisle and raised at Allenberry Resort Inn & Playhouse, the beloved local business built by his father. After graduating from Cumberland Valley High School, where he met Diane Young, the love of his life and wife of 62 years, Jere earned his Bachelor of Science in Business administration from Drexel University and served honorably in the Navy during the Vietnam War.

Jere went on to work both in New York City, at The Plaza, and in Los Angeles, at The Bonaventure, before returning to Boiling Springs to run Allenberry alongside his brother, John, and his sister, Mary Jane, and to raise his own young family there. As the resort’s general manager, Jere conceived of and produced the wildly popular Murder Mystery Weekends and original Christmas Shows.

Jere also served as President of the Pennsylvania Restaurant Association 1985-1986 and was awarded PRA Restaurateur of the Year in 1993. In 2009, Jere was named president of Allenberry and oversaw both the resort, alongside his son, Charles, and the Playhouse, where he had appeared at age 5 in the theatre’s very first production, Life With Father.

In 2016, Jere retired with Diane to Auburn, AL, to be close to their daughter, Jennifer, and her family. He and Diane returned again to Boiling Springs in the summer of 2025.

Jere was well-known among his family and friends for his generosity, and more specifically, for his bountiful family-style ordering at restaurants and his joyful and extravagant hosting at his home with Diane, around their massive butcher-block kitchen island. Jere traveled extensively and had a great love for New York City and the beach, especially the Caribbean, but his home was always Allenberry, where his hospitality could flourish and where he could be with his whole family.

Jere is now reunited, and certainly entertaining, with his parents, Charles and Mary Lucinda.

He is survived by his wife Diane; daughter Jennifer Kor and son-in-law Arif, of Auburn, AL;, son Charles Heinze and daughter-in-law Jennifer, of Mechanicsburg, PA; grandchildren Emre, Mia, Chase, and Nola; brother John Heinze (Kathy); sister Mary Jane Heinze; and his loving nieces and nephews.

In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be made in Jere’s name to Shriners Children’s, Philadelphia, 3551 N. Broad Street, Philadelphia, PA 19140.