Douglas Anthony Schenk

Douglas Anthony Schenk, 73, of Roxborough, CO passed peacefully from this world on Friday, February 11, 2022. He was born on February 25, 1948 in Brooklyn, N.Y. the son of Edward W. and Florence Schenk.

Douglas is survived by his loving wife Marianne Schenk, Roxborough, CO; his three daughters Shana (Jarom) Eberhard and their children, Riley, Ella, and Owen of Littleton, CO; Erin (Sean) Curtis and their children Lydia, Brityn, and Henry of Rockport, MA; Megan (Michael) Grippo and their children Julia and Eli of Staten Island, NY.

He is also survived by siblings, Donald Schenk (Diane) of Arvada, CO; Edward Schenk (Viya) of Wallingford, CT; Carolyn Schenk of Lisbon Falls, Maine; and Barbara Schenk (Arthur Toye) of Los Ánge-les, CA; sister and brother-in-law, Martha (Richard) Hecock of New London, OH; and many cousins, nieces and nephews.

Douglas worked at a variety of jobs in his life, and excelled in each one, but invariably the single most important job that he loved was his years serving the country with the U.S. Navy. He entered the U.S. Navy in San Diego, CA on May, 1970. He served aboard the USS Monticello, LSD-35 a dock landing ship, and cruised to New Zealand and Australia, ending up along the coast of Vietnam. In 1972, He was se-lected to enter Officer Candidate School (OCS) in Newport, R.I., and received the Distinguished Naval Graduate Award.

Newport, RI is also where he met the love of his life, Marianne. She was an Ensign at the time attend-ing nurses’ orientation. Little did they know at that time they would spend the next 49 years together, raising a family and enjoying life.

Douglas held numerous positions and received additional distinctions while serving as an Ensign, and subsequently was promoted up the ranks to Commander (CDR). He graduated from Naval Savage Div-ing School in Washington, D.C. His first duty station as an officer was Little Creek VA where he served aboard the USS Hoist, ARS-40, a rescue and salvage ship. He and the crew knew their designation was hazardous duty, but all served honorably, cruising to ports of call including Hawaii, Spain, and partici-pated in the Mid-East crisis in 1973. Other positions during his naval career, ranged from Commanding Officer of the Diving Unit in Cleveland, and as Officer Recruiter for physicians and nurses. Doug retired and was honorably discharged from the U.S. Navy as a Commander.

He loved to read almost a book a day, science fiction, fantasy or history anything while watching TV (LOUDLY). This was an amusing, multi-tasking feat as he could easily recall conversations around him at the time, give a synopsis of the book so far, and tell you the ending of the movie! He was opinionated, yet passionate and loved his family with all his heart. He was an avid swimmer, sailor, determined, and industrious. His spirit was endless, a risk taker and adventurous. That strong will helped him as he fought the effects of Parkinson’s disease. Once when visiting Normandy, Omaha Beach and the Amer-ican Cemetery, he refused the wheelchair that was offered and insisted on walking almost the entire cemetery with his wife while paying homage to his fellow comrades.

Douglas, you are forever in our hearts, until we meet again…“Fair Winds and Following Seas”.

The Schenk Family is grateful to the VA HBPC (Home-Based Primary Care) Team for their professional-ism and dedication while serving Douglas, as well as veterans everywhere. They are genuine, the real thing and when families are faced with the challenges of diseases they provide comfort and give hope.

Donations can be made in Douglas’s name:

1). The Davis Phinney Foundation for Parkinson’s, davisphinneyfoundation.org

2). VA Eastern Colorado Medical Foster Homes, E-Donate:

https://www.pay.gov/public/form/start/53168819/

Monetary Donations: Make Check Payable to: RMRVAMC Memo Section: Write where you would like the funds to go to (caregiver support, homeless, rec therapy, hospice, general benefit of patients (helps ALL patients).

3). Veteran Tickets Foundation, vettix.org

Funeral services will take place on 3/7/2022, 12 Noon at Light of the World Catholic Church, 10316 West Bowles Ave., Littleton, CO. Burial with full military honors will follow at 2:15 PM at Ft. Logan National Cemetery, 4400 W. Kenyon, Ave., Denver, CO.