Harvey Wenz

February 3, 1932 ~ November 26, 2021
Harvey Allen Wenz of Smithtown, New York passed away peacefully at the age of 89 on November 26, 2021 at St. Catherine of Siena Hospital in Smithtown.
Born February 3rd, 1932 in Buffalo, NY, the only child of Harvey and Ellen Wenz, he was a loving husband, father and grandfather, survived by his wife of 64 years, Joan Marie Wenz and his four daughters; Andrea McCarthy, Paula (Jim) Brandmeier, Sheila Wenz and Kelly (Winthrop) PuFolkes, and his seven grandchildren; Patrick and Daniel McCarthy, Jamie, Jessica and Josie Brandmeier, and Amagansett and Connemara PuFolkes.
Harvey had a distinguished career as a pilot that began when he joined the United States Navy in 1953. As a Naval Aviator, he took great pride in his skill and expertise landing the Stoof S2F Submarine Tracker onto flight decks of Navy carrier ships at sea. He also played an integral role in the detectability trials for the USS Nautilus, the first nuclear capability submarine.
He continued flying as a commercial pilot as First Officer and then Captain with American Airlines for thirty-five years, until retiring in 1992. In 2014 he was presented with The Wright Brothers “Master Pilot” award by the Department of Transportation & Federal Aviation Administration.
In retirement he and his wife began a successful antique and fine furniture business where they traveled the world and curated antique shows throughout New York.
For many years Harvey was an avid athlete and outdoorsman who enjoyed swimming and body surfing, offshore and deep sea fishing, tennis, skiing, bowling, exotic family vacations and sailing on the Long Island Sound. He found joy as well in the simple things like feeding the birds and squirrels in his yard, cultivating his favorite rose bush, reading about aviation and war history, and doing the crossword each morning with his wife.
But his true passion was flying jets, and throughout his impressive career Captain Wenz piloted a variety of aircraft including the Lockheed Electra 11, the Connie 990, Boeing’s 707 & 727 and retiring on the DC-10. Harvey deeply cherished the thousands and thousands of miles he accrued while in flight… for it’s there where he slipped the surly bonds of earth and danced the skies on laughter-silvered wings.
My Dad always like this poem:
High Flight
Oh! I have slipped the surly bonds of Earth
And danced the sky on laughter-silvered wings;
Sunward I’ve climbed and joined the tumbling mirth of sun-split clouds, and done a hundred things you have not dreamed of-
Wheeled and soared and swung high in the sunlit silence.
Hov’ring there, I’ve chased the shouting wind along and flung my eager craft through footless halls of air..
Up, up the long delirious burning blue I’ve topped the wind-swept heights with easy grace,
Where never lark nor even eagle flew.
And, while with silent lifting mind I’ve trod the high untresspassed sanctity of space,
Put out my hand, and touched the face of God.
Harvey’s wife, Joan, was the cousin and closest childhood friend of my mother, Janet. After college together, they married in and lived states apart for the remainder of their lives. The connection remained strong. Happily, Harvey and my father, Ed, had an ongoing friendship that may have been fueled, at least in part, by being wildly outnumbered. Of eight children in the two families, seven were daughters.
In recent years, my sister, Molly, and I have had a chance to exchange notes and memories with Harvey and Joan. Recently, with Sheila as the skilled Smithtown conductor, the connection continues.
Sending condolences to the entire Wenz family.
“Once you have tasted flight, you will forever walk the earth with your eyes turned skywards.” – Leonardo Da Vinci
My deepest condolences on the loss of your wonderful father. Harvey, we will miss you here at Smithtown. May you rest in peace. Love Anne and the team.
I flew with Harvey while we were attached to squadron VS 31 out of Quonset Point, RI. Harv, Gabe Gabriel and I were close friends not only when flying but also as land travelers when our ship, the USS Antietam docked at various ports along the shores of the Mediterranean.
Harvey Wenz was not just a great pilot and friend, but also a loving husband and father. I will miss his friendship and his outlook on life.
What a shame that his favorite daughter so he told me, Sheila, isn’t in the memories and pictures. She wrote his beautiful obituary. Perhaps maybe she was living back out in california. He talked about how proud he was of her comedy and teaching and writing talent and how she took care of he and his wife near the end of his life. He felt you were very special if you do ever read this and I wanted to tell you knowing he probabbly never did tell you that enough. Xo Fp