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.