‘Persevere, persevere, persevere’

Moorestown’s Citizen of the Year Julie Maravich was honored by friends, family and neighbors at the Community House of Moorestown on Feb. 4.

The 73rd annual dinner meeting of the combined township service clubs also honored the 2026 Good Citizen Honoree Sonia Leo.

Leo, a senior at Moorestown High School, is heavily involved with teaching STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics), character development and leadership to children in local libraries through her organization STEMPower Network. She also tutors students and conducts interactive sessions to encourage curiosity.

Beyond that, Leo also writes and edits articles with chapter leaders for newsletters through her initiative, South Jersey STEM. She mentors students interested in science projects, and fosters STEM engagement to impact the lives of tomorrow’s leaders.

Leo plans to attend a college that allows her to explore her interests in science, technology and innovation. She hopes to use STEM to make a positive impact on her community and beyond.

“I’m very honored and humbled to be here today,” Leo noted of the dinner. “I’m also thankful to the Rotary clubs, the Lions Club, Moorestown High School and everyone else who has supported me and made all of this possible. I know I’m not even one-fourth as accomplished as all of you, but I’m very honored and humbled to be here today.

“Thank you again for this honor.”

Maravich, the third of four girls, was born in 1964 in Newark, New York, to Josephine Schillaci and Charles Cunningham. She recalled moving every few years as the child of a father who was a private jet pilot. Charles took a job as a personal pilot and farm manager when Maravich was in eighth grade, so the family lived in Titusville, Pennsylvania, for the remainder of her high-school years. She ran track and cross country and was the leader of the drill team, the Rockettes.

Maravich attended Gannon University, where she met her husband Nick. After both graduated in 1985, they moved to Philadelphia so Nick could attend Thomas Jefferson Medical School and Julie worked at Pennsylvania Hospital. They were married in 1986 and made the most of their time living in the city’s Society Hill neighborhood near Independence Hall.

Their first daughter, Alexandra, was born at Pennsylvania Hospital soon after. Following Nick’s residency in radiology there, the couple moved to Charleston, South Carolina, for four years. It was there that their second daughter Briana was born.

Friends from medical school already living in Moorestown helped Julie and Nick move to the community once their time in Charleston ended. After they bought their home, Julie got to work on finishing touches, learning how to sand and refinish floors; strip peeling paint; and refurbish window sashes, all of which ignited her passion for historic preservation.

She joined the Historical Society of Moorestown in 2000. A previous Citizen of the Year, Margaret Ingersoll, convinced Maravich to join the board three years later. Notable projects included leading the charge to save Swede Run Barn on Westfield Road; serving on the Thomas Tallman House and the Lippincott House committees; and serving on the Friends of Percheron Bark board of Trustees.

Maravich also founded Moorestown’s Ghosts and Living History Walking Tours and has led fundraising committees for many historical society events.

“Now she would be the first to object to the amount of credit I’m giving her, but I’ve had a ringside seat to this action right from the beginning,” Lenny Wagner, of the Historical Society of Moorestown, noted of Maravich. “And yes, as she likes to say, ‘It takes a village,’ but I believe that none of these buildings would be standing a few months from now if not for her …

“To put a bow on it, the fact is that no one’s more deserving of this great honor than Julie,” he added. “She is able to rally people to her cause because she always leads from the front … People who truly love history, like Julie, they become our heroes and our town treasures.”

The John and Minnie Perkins House at 334 Chester Ave. – once a funeral home – was threatened with demolition and subdivision years ago. With the help of fellow Moorestown residents, Maravich saved it from destruction, and it’s since been sold to a young family that is currently renovating it. The occupants will benefit from a preservation easement on the house when the exterior is completed.

“(Moorestown) has so many advantages,” Maravich observed. “The proximity to Philadelphia … yet it’s more quiet and relaxed, it’s more of a bedroom community. It has its beautiful, quaint village-like Main Street which I absolutely love … It has 19 remaining Revolutionary War houses scattered throughout town … It’s just a gem. It’s an absolute gem.

“There’s so much history,” Maravich added, “and you can tell that people value it. It’s not just me; there is a whole, long history of service in this town, of people giving back, and I think that’s important.”

Maravich is also the president of Saving Historic Moorestown, a nonprofit that supports and provides financial investment for the preservation and enhancement of the township’s history and historic assets. Last year, it acquired the Revolutionary War-era Cowperthwaite House, as well as a bungalow and two lots at 85 Kings Highway for preservation. The organization has received significant grants to begin planning and archeology on the site.

Saving Historic Moorestown has also helped to save the two former Weichert buildings on Main Street and, most recently, 730 Marne Highway, also known as the Truxtun House, from Virtua Memorial Hospital at Burlington County, commonly known as Virtua Mount Holly Hospital.

“I want to emphatically say, ‘Persevere, persevere, persevere,'” Maravich advised. “Finding purpose brings joy and gratitude and endorphins. The longer I live, I realize that life’s scary challenges and lessons are universal. Cliches exist for a reason because they have merit and here’s one: ‘We all have our mountains to climb, and our grief to learn to walk beside, but there’s so much joy and happiness in finding your place in the world and engaging in service to do as much good as you can for as long as you can.’

“I know in my heart that there is no better place to do these things than in my hometown, the place I say I am from, Moorestown.”