Obituary for Hans W. Wenzel
BEACON FALLS, CT – Hans Walter Wenzel, age 78 of Beacon Falls, beloved husband of Dolores (Hale) Wenzel, passed peacefully on Saturday, February 18, 2023 in his home surrounded by family. Born in Adorf-Waldeck, Germany on September 1, 1944 and arrived in the US when he was almost eight years of age in August of 1952, he was the son of the late Hans Friedrich Wenzel and Anna Elizabeth (Richter) Wenzel/Heun.
Hans was a US Army veteran who after completion of training at Fort Leonard Wood, Missouri received orders for the 569th Personnel Service Company at the Flak-Kaserne, Ludwigsburg Germany. This was surprising as about 80% of those finishing training went to Vietnam during this time. Upon Hans’s discharge from the Army in January of 1968 he would apply for a position at Morgan Guaranty Trust Company (now JP Morgan). He ended up working there for 32 years, starting as a securities processing clerk and ultimately promoted to various supervisory and managerial positions. He boasted that it took two Harvard graduates to replace him when he retired in the year 2000. Hans was very patriotic and loved engaging in political discussions, as well as watching the stock market. He was an avid chess and pinochle player and always enjoyed a game of horseshoes, and after his retirement he could be found building birdhouses which he gave to many family members and friends. Above all else, Hans loved spending time with his family, especially his grandchildren, as well as his family in faith whom he lovingly served while in his ministry for almost 25 years in the New Apostolic Church in various congregations in New York, most notably the Hollis congregation that started as a mission and was brought to full congregational status under his care with a new church building constructed on 99th Avenue and Francis Lewis Boulevard that was dedicated in September of 1995.
In addition to his wife Dolores, of 57 years, survivors include his devoted sons Robert Wenzel and his wife Jonna of NY and Philip Wenzel and his wife Rebecca of MA; 2 grandchildren, Nolan and Shea, as well as his brother, Friedrich Wenzel and his wife Sylvia of PA. Hans was predeceased by his half-brother, Peter Heun and survived by his wife, Stella.
A Memorial Service celebrating his life will take place on March 18, 2023 at 11am in the New Apostolic Church located at 145 Crossways Park Drive West, Woodbury, NY 11797. Interment with full military honors was held in the VA Cemetery in Middletown, CT. The Ralph E. Hull Funeral Home, 161 W. Church St. Seymour, CT 06483 has been entrusted with his arrangements. In lieu of flowers, memorial donations in Hans’ name can be made to The Leukemia and Lymphoma Society (lls.org) or to the Disabled American Veterans (ihelpveterans.org).
Hans was a US Army veteran who after completion of training at Fort Leonard Wood, Missouri received orders for the 569th Personnel Service Company at the Flak-Kaserne, Ludwigsburg Germany. This was surprising as about 80% of those finishing training went to Vietnam during this time. Upon Hans’s discharge from the Army in January of 1968 he would apply for a position at Morgan Guaranty Trust Company (now JP Morgan). He ended up working there for 32 years, starting as a securities processing clerk and ultimately promoted to various supervisory and managerial positions. He boasted that it took two Harvard graduates to replace him when he retired in the year 2000. Hans was very patriotic and loved engaging in political discussions, as well as watching the stock market. He was an avid chess and pinochle player and always enjoyed a game of horseshoes, and after his retirement he could be found building birdhouses which he gave to many family members and friends. Above all else, Hans loved spending time with his family, especially his grandchildren, as well as his family in faith whom he lovingly served while in his ministry for almost 25 years in the New Apostolic Church in various congregations in New York, most notably the Hollis congregation that started as a mission and was brought to full congregational status under his care with a new church building constructed on 99th Avenue and Francis Lewis Boulevard that was dedicated in September of 1995.
In addition to his wife Dolores, of 57 years, survivors include his devoted sons Robert Wenzel and his wife Jonna of NY and Philip Wenzel and his wife Rebecca of MA; 2 grandchildren, Nolan and Shea, as well as his brother, Friedrich Wenzel and his wife Sylvia of PA. Hans was predeceased by his half-brother, Peter Heun and survived by his wife, Stella.
A Memorial Service celebrating his life will take place on March 18, 2023 at 11am in the New Apostolic Church located at 145 Crossways Park Drive West, Woodbury, NY 11797. Interment with full military honors was held in the VA Cemetery in Middletown, CT. The Ralph E. Hull Funeral Home, 161 W. Church St. Seymour, CT 06483 has been entrusted with his arrangements. In lieu of flowers, memorial donations in Hans’ name can be made to The Leukemia and Lymphoma Society (lls.org) or to the Disabled American Veterans (ihelpveterans.org).