Donald David Wenk Sr. Of Palm Beach Gardens, Florida, And Westhampton Beach Dies November 7 - 27 East
logo logo logo logo

Obituaries / Southampton Press / 1835361

Donald David Wenk Sr. Of Palm Beach Gardens, Florida, And Westhampton Beach Dies November 7

icon 1 Photo
Donald David Wenk Sr.

Donald David Wenk Sr.

authorStaff Writer on Nov 12, 2021

Donald David Wenk Sr. of Palm Beach Gardens, Florida, and Westhampton Beach died peacefully on November 7, surrounded by his family. He was 91.

Born in Woodhaven, Queens, on June 1, 1930, he was the son of Norman and Sarah Wenk. He was married to his wife, Mary Skinner Wenk, for 69 years.

Wenk attended Rensselaer Polytechnical Institute as a mechanical engineer major, and served three years in the U.S. Air Force during the Korean War. He was the president and CEO of American Casting & Mfg. Corp, a fourth-generation family-owned manufacturing company started by his grandfather in 1910.

In addition, Wenk served on the executive boards of Long Island Savings Bank, Astoria Federal, and St Francis Hospital.

He was a 60-year summer resident of Westhampton Beach and president of Westhampton Country Club.

The cornerstone of Wenk’s life was his family, his survivors said. His devotion to his wife, Mary, set the example to his ever-growing family: that family is first. His mantra was to live every day with love, 
loyalty, gratitude, and kindness.

He is survived by his children, Donald Jr. (Clare) Wenk; Mary Beth (Charles) Austin-Trunz, Mary Ellen (Keith) Fell, Mary Jane Wenk, Mary Susan Wenk, James (Dianne) Wenk, Mary Patricia (Mark) Lunden; 21 grandchildren; 10 step-grandchildren; and 24 great-grandchildren.

A funeral Mass will be held at 9:30 a.m. on Saturday, November 20, at The Church of St. Joseph in Garden City. Burial services will be private.

You May Also Like:

Express Sessions: The South Fork's Bounty, on Land and at Sea

The latest in the Express Sessions panel discussion series, “ The South Fork’s Bounty, on ... 10 May 2025 by Editorial Board

Hard Decisions Could Lie Ahead for Local Restaurants, Businesses as They Brace for Higher Tariffs

In a matter of weeks, harvest season will begin across the region, kicking off a ... by Michelle Trauring

Under Siege

Our Sag Harbor park tennis courts are under siege. There are eight clay courts and two hard courts. Information was just given at the start of the season that the hard courts will be given over to pickleball, as they were last season, but will be resurfaced and used only for pickleball — not to be shared for tennis, also. Two of the now eight clay courts, on the upper level, are to be paved this summer, I was told, so that the high school teams can use hard courts for practice in fall and spring. The timing of this ... by Staff Writer

Not the Best Day

So, the person who concocted the recent traffic experiment says it was “the best day yet” [“After Southampton Traffic Experiment Victory Lap, Talk Turns to Long-Term Possibilities,” 27east.com, May 7]. Obviously he didn’t drive anywhere between 3 and 7 p.m. those two weeks. We live off South Magee Street and could not go west at 4 p.m., because there were no left turns on County Road 39 from South Magee, nor could we turn right onto Hill Street. We had to drive the back roads to get to the intersection of North Sea Road and County Road 39, which was ... by Staff Writer

Miracle Space-Age Fabrics of the 1980s

I fractured my patella in March. I was skiing in Colorado. As I stood up from the chairlift, the top of my kneecap broke away. Crazy, right? We couldn’t figure out how it happened. One doctor thought my thigh muscles were so strong, they pulled the bone apart. Those millions of squats I’ve done in the past must have given me the quadriceps of 10 men. But can the quadriceps of 10 men break a bone? If so, are they strong enough to lift a car? Lifting a car would be bad-expletive. Since it happened at the top of the ... by Tracy Grathwohl

Going Nuclear

“Governor [Kathy] Hochul is making a major push to not only build new nuclear plants in New York State but to make N.Y. the center of a nuclear revival in the U.S.,” declared Mark Dunlea, chair of the Green Education and Legal Fund, and long a leader on environmental issues in the state and nationally, in a recent email calling on support to “stop Hochul’s nuclear push.” Dunlea is author of the book “Putting Out the Planetary Fire: An Introduction to Climate Change and Advocacy.” An Albany Law School graduate, he co-founded both the New York Public Interest Research Group ... by Karl Grossman

Car Destroyed by Fire in Water Mill Friday Morning

The Southampton Fire Department was called out to a car fire in Water Mill on ... 9 May 2025 by Staff Writer

A Lifeline, Threatened: Local Head Start Programs Carry On Under Pressure

A group of small children clamored together on the thick navy blue carpet in a ... by Cailin Riley

The Future of Farming, with Amanda Merrow of Amber Waves | 27Speaks Podcast

In the spring of 2008, Amanda Merrow and Katie Baldwin met for the first time ... 8 May 2025 by 27Speaks

Barbara Ann Muller of Southampton Dies March 30

Barbara Ann Muller “Bam” Cancellieri, of Southampton, New York, passed away on March 30, 2025, ... by Staff Writer