Obituary of Edward Wolkenmuth

WOLKENMUTH, Edward Frederick, (89), of Columbia, New Jersey , formerly of Wyckoff went to be with the Lord on Saturday, February 26, 2011 at home after a long battle with Lymphoma Leukemia. Ed was born June 9, 1921 to Lucy Rube and Frederick Herman Wolkenmuth at Mary Immaculate Hospital (Wyckoff) Hospital in Queens, NY. He grew up in Brooklyn, NY and later moved to Westwood, NJ. He married Irene Margaret Wallendal of Prospect Park, NJ on May 18, 1946 and they resided in Wyckoff, NJ for nearly 50 years until their retirement when they moved to Columbia, NJ in 1997 - near Ed's favorite hunting and fishing grounds. In Wyckoff he was a long standing member of Wyckoff Volunteer Fire Dept Company#3 and Deputy Fire Chief (1960-62). Ed was a long time member at 2nd Reformed Church and served as a deacon and elder. He was a member of Knowlton Presbyterian Church, Columbia, NJ. Ed was a great artist and avid hunter, fisherman, gardener, and could fix anything. He started his lifelong engineering career at Casey Jones Aeronautical School where he received his aircraft and engineering license. He worked 47 years for Curtiss-Wright Corporation, first overhauling Piper Cub engines and as a test pilot at Teterborough Airport, then as a test cell engineer at the Woodridge, NJ facility, which was eventually bought by John Deere, from which he retired in 1991. Ed was involved with the development of the rotary engine used in the Mazda automobile. Ed is survived by his wife Irene of 64 years; his son Edward Frederick Wolkenmuth Jr. (Julianne) of Aspen, CO; daughter Lora Jean Blank (Graydon) of Gaylord, MI; and daughter Wendy Engle (Kevin) of Las Cruces, NM; nine grandchildren and seven great grandchildren and numerous family, friends, neighbors and wonderful care givers. The Wolkenmuth Family will receive friends on Saturday, March 5, 2011 from 10:30AM until 12 Noon followed by the Funeral service at 12 Noon at the Vander Plaat Funeral Home (www.vpfh.com), 257 Godwin Avenue, Wyckoff. Interment will be in the George Washington Memorial Park in Paramus. Donations can be made to Wyckoff Fire Department, 1 Scott Plaza,Wyckoff, NJ 07481. (www.wyckofffire.com).