Henry J. Penkul

Lakewood, NJ resident Henry J. Penkul—loving husband, longtime financial advisor for one of the largest U.S. engineering firms, faithful Catholic and die-hard sports fan—died March 23 at Ocean Medical Center in Brick. He was 83. Born Dec. 25, 1929 in Carteret, N.J. and graduating in 1947 from St. Mary’s High School in Perth Amboy, Henry’s adulthood truly started when he was drafted in 1951, following his graduation with a history degree from Georgetown University. His two years in the Army saw him act as a chaplain’s assistant, work in the office and serve overseas in Germany. But the immediate years after the Army saw Henry follow the personal and professional paths that would define the rest of his life. Following his honorable discharge from the military in August 1953, Henry studied accounting at Rutgers University. During that period, he also met Dorothy Uhouse, whom he married in 1955. They moved to Oak Park, Ill., where they lived for two years before returning to New Jersey when Henry took a job with RCA. He and Dorothy lived for several years in North Branch, N.J. in the late 1950s and much of the 1960s. He joined engineering giant Parsons, Brinckerhoff, Quade and Douglas in the early 1970s. Henry later described his tenure in the 1970s and 1980s with Parsons Brinckerhoff as the best job of his life. While living in Freehold, N.J. and later Middletown, N.J., Henry worked Parsons to evaluate the financials of projects around the world.

He initially tried retiring to Tallahassee, Fla. in the early 1980s. But he soon became restless and returned to Parsons Brinckerhoff for a second stint, living again in Middletown from 1985 to 1990 before moving back to Tallahassee, where he and Dorothy stayed for 19 years. Not that he stayed retired—Henry stayed busy by taking an auditor’s job with Florida’s state government in 1995 and doing it well into his 70s before finally retiring professionally in 2005. Henry’s interest in his profession extended outside his full-time work. He spent decades helping the accounting firm of close friend Stan Wasilewski during the peak of tax seasons. In faith related work for several years as a volunteer in Florida, he did the accounting for his local branch of Catholic Charities. Henry’s bookish demeanor belied an avid interest in sports. He played basketball for his high school, and as an adult rooted for the Georgetown Hoyas and later the Florida State Seminoles. But his longest sports passion was with the New York Giants as a lifelong fan and season ticketholder for decades. In addition to his wife Dorothy, Henry is survived by sisters Celeste Penkul and Theresa Weber, as well as several nieces and nephews. His parents Blanche and Frank Penkul passed away earlier, as did sisters Josephine Skrocki, Genevieve Hiriak, Pauline Penkul an Sophie Bednarz.

Visiting hours will take place from 4 p.m. to 7 p.m. on Monday April 1, at D’Elia Funeral Home in Lakewood, NJ. The funeral will take place April 2, with the procession starting at D’Elia Funeral Home at 9:30 a.m. and a Mass at 10:30 a.m. at Holy Family Church on County Line Road in Lakewood. Burial will follow at the Brigadier General William C. Doyle Veterans Memorial Cemetery in Wrightstown, NJ. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made in Henry’s name to Holy Family Church in Lakewood, NJ. For further information or to post a tribute online, please visit www.deliafuneralhome.com.