Robert “Bob” Wenzel, 92, of Vero Beach, passed away peacefully on Dec. 1, 2014.
Wenzel was born at home in South River, N.J. He served in the Army Central Intelligence Corps in Belgium, Germany, France, Slavic and Philippines. Following his discharge he attended and graduated from Rutgers University in 1949.
Shortly after marrying his sweetheart Caroline L. Oliphant (Carol), he was called back into active duty for the Korean conflict. Following his discharge as second Lieutenant, Wenzel began his career with the New Jersey Bell Telephone Company.
He and Carol raised their growing family: twin sons Robert and John and daughter Caroline, in Willingboro, N.J., where he was a member of the Rotary and later served as President.
Wenzel was also very active in the town and town matters. He served both on the town council and as Mayor.
He worked for the New Jersey Bell Telephone Company for 37 years retiring as District Claims Manager in the Legal Department. Finding himself not comfortable with retirement, he and Carol moved to Spring Lake Heights, N.J. where he served as the Zoning Officer for 11 years.
Several years after his wife Carol passed away, Wenzel moved to Vero Beach and resided at Regency Park. He had a great sense of humor and love of life and family. He loved his manhattans, Time magazines and crossword puzzles. He was always upbeat; when asked how he was feeling he always responded “I couldn’t be better if I tried.”
Wenzel loved the fact that his three children all lived in towns starting with a “V”: Robert and Sheila and daughter Gillian, Ventura, Calif.; John and Alexandra, Verona, N.J., and Caroline and Edward Fitzgerald, Vero Beach.
“Our dad loved life but said if his time was to come tomorrow, he would be fine with it as he had a great life. He did. He was a great husband, father and grandfather. He gave his family many wonderful memories which they will have fun recalling and sharing with each other at a private memorial service which will be held at a later date.”