Palmer Heenan, who as mayor of Grosse Pointe Park for more than three decades worked to preserve the city's borders with Detroit, died Monday at Beaumont Hospital in Grosse Pointe. He was 94.

Heenan retired in mid-term a year ago following a bout of illness after 31 years of leading the upscale suburb that abuts Detroit's east side.

In July, he stood on the arm of his daughter Betsy Heenan Fox in front of the city hall and public safety annex on East Jefferson, watching a sign being unveiled that says, "Palmer T. Heenan Municipal Center." Fox, of Grosse Pointe Farms, said Wednesday: "He was a gem. We are celebrating his life and hope that others like him follow."

Heenan — a Princeton preppy, forever seen in a camelhair sport coat or blue blazer — managed to infuriate many while endearing himself to countless others as he rode an often rocky relationship with his city's giant urban neighbor. He battled charges of racism while trying to keep Detroit's border blight from overtaking nearby streets of Grosse Pointe Park.

Critics, including some residents of Grosse Pointe Park, faulted Heenan's leadership for trying to shut his suburb off from Detroit and Detroiters, using cul de sacs to close off border streets. That history peaked in 2014 when Grosse Pointe Park blockaded Kercheval Avenue.

Heenan relished the give and take of governing and didn't shrink from debate, even in his final years. In December 2014, at what was to become his last city council meeting before he fell ill in early 2015, Heenan presided over a contentious council meeting and heard a string of audience members castigate the city for blocking Kercheval. When the city attorney announced an end to public comment, Heenan said: "No, no! Let them speak. I'm having fun."

Last fall, the city removed the blockade and signed an agreement with Detroit Mayor Mike Duggan, restoring traffic flow across the border in return for Detroit's pledge to raze abandoned homes and plan investments on its side.

A key achievement that Heenan led early on was persuading voters to switch to public safety services, in which police officers double as firefighters. The change put more officers on the street and saved money badly needed to enforce code violations and reinvent the deteriorating East Jefferson and Kercheval districts, said Greg Theokas, a former city council member and mayor pro tem under Heenan.

The business district on East Jefferson had become "a hodgepodge of buildings that were really deteriorating," Theokas said. "Now you see condominiums, a new library, medical offices and major improvements to the city's buildings."

Besides his daughter, Heenan is survived by daughter Page Heenan, also of Grosse Pointe Farms; a son, Palmer Heenan Jr. of Fenton Lake, and eight grandchildren. Burial will be private. There will be a memorial service this spring on a date not yet decided.