Henry Ray Wengrow

Dr. Henry Ray Wengrow of Jacksonville, Florida died Thursday, October 12, 2017, at Baptist Medical Center. His wife Jean Brock, his daughter, Rebecca Wengrow Fixel and his granddaughter, Abigail Lois Fixel were by his side. Dr. Wengrow was born in Savannah, Georgia, on April 20, 1938, the son of the late Sam Wengrow and Sura Wolff Wengrow. He lived in Allendale, South Carolina until he was 12, when his family moved to Columbia, SC, so he could prepare for his bar mitzvah, the Jewish coming-of-age ceremony. Growing up in Columbia, he was active in the Jewish youth organization AZA.

He attended Dreher High School, where he was a member of championship debating teams. He graduated in 1956 and then attended the University of South Carolina, where he earned his B.S. in Chemical Engineering in 1960 and his Masters of Chemical Engineering in 1961. He received his PhD in Chemical Engineering from the University of Florida in 1966 while working for the Glidden Corporation in Jacksonville. He later taught chemical engineering at Lowell Institute in Massachusetts.

He returned to the University of South Carolina and earned his JD from the Law School in 1978. He then held various positions with the South Carolina Department of Public Safety, retiring as deputy general counsel in 2010. He held numerous offices at Beth Shalom Synagogue in Columbia, South Carolina including being it’s 30th congregational president and was the synagogue’s first recipient of the Magen David Award in 1986. He was also active in B’nai B’rith, the international Jewish service organization and was elected president of its District Five in 1988. He was presented the Columbia B'nai B'rith Community Service Award in 1987.

Dr. Wengrow is survived by his wife, Jean Brock, his daughter, Rebecca Wengrow Fixel, his granddaughter, Abigail Lois Fixel, all of Jacksonville, his step-son, Brock Trevathan of Whitefish, Montana, his sister, Reberta Wengrow Karesh of Camden, SC, and his brother, Arnold Wengrow, of Asheville, NC.

Graveside services will be held Monday October 16th at 12:00pm at the Jacksonville Jewish Center Memorial Park AKA The New Center Cemetery: 200 E 43rd St, Jacksonville, FL 32208. Memorials may be made in Dr. Wengrow’s honor to The Martin J. Gottlieb Day School Mitzvah Fund https://jjcjax.org/make-donation

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HARDAGE-GIDDENS, THE OAKLAWN CHAPEL, 4801 San Jose Blvd is serving the family.