Henry E. Vincenty

Henry E. Vincenty, age 77, of Sagamore Hills, OH; husband, father, grandfather, Boy Scout master, outdoorsman, sailor, boatbuilder, woodworker, mechanical engineer, author and lover of all things bright and beautiful died on December 6, 2011. Born Feb. 4, 1934 in Cecil Township, Pennsylvania, he was the son of Henry J. Vincenty, a coal miner and family farmer, and Ann E. Gazvoda, homemaker. He was a 1951 graduate of Cecil Twp. High School and moved to Cleveland, Ohio to work and attend Fenn College of Engineering. His education was interrupted by the Korean War when he was inducted into the US Army. Trained as an Ordnance Explosive and Propellant Specialist he was posted to the 96th Ordnance Company and shipped to West Germany in January 1955. He married Shirley Polaski of Canonsburg, PA in November 1954. Shirley joined him in Germany in November 1955 and Michael, their first of six children, was born in 1956 in Landstuhl, Germany. Mustered out of the US Army on December 23, 1956, he returned to Cleveland, OH with his family and began his employment at the Euclid Road Machinery Company. The next 34 years saw the birth of five more children and his steady rise through the design and management ranks of the Euclid Engineering Department. His professional career culminated with his retirement from the position of Manager of Engineering Systems and Documentation in October 1991. As a member and officer of the Cleveland Amateur Boatbuilding and Boating Society (CABBS), he expressed his love for sailing and writing about it with numerous articles for the CABBS newsletter and the Traditional Small Craft Association's national journal, The Ash Breeze. He was an active member of the Lake Erie Tartan Sailors (LETS) officiating annually in the boat blessing ceremony, and the Sandusky Sailing Club. He is survived by his wife and fellow sailor, Paula Smith; sons Michael (Virginia) of San Francisco, CA, Christopher (Lisa) of Bar Harbor, ME, Phillip (Laurel) of Ellicott City, MD , Dominic (Heather) of Marietta, GA, daughters; Melissa (James) of Kailua, HI and Susan (Thomas) of Honolulu, HI.; nine grandchildren; step-daughters Patricia (Daniel) of San Diego, CA and Karen (Steve) of Perrysburg, OH and five step-grandchildren. He has two living siblings; Lillian Bialosky (Sigmund, dec.) of Westlake, OH and David Vincenty (Irene) of Canonsburg, PA. Memorial contributions may be made to the Hospice of The Western Reserve, 17876 St. Clair Avenue, Cleveland, OH 44110 Attn: Donations or to TSCA John Gardner Fund for the preservation and enrichment of our traditional small craft heritage. Send to the MAINE COMMUNITY FOUNDATION, Attn: TSCA John Gardner Fund, 245 Main St., Ellsworth, ME 04605. Family and friends will be received on Saturday, December 10, 2011 from 3:00 p.m. with Funeral Services at 7:00 p.m. at Busch Funeral Home, 7501 Ridge Road, Parma, OH 44129, 440-842-7800. Respecting Hank's wishes he will be cremated.