Henry Theodore Filek

In addition to his parents, he was predeceased by his older sister, Loretta Filek, and his oldest daughter, Cynthia D. Lee. He was married to Alice Dawn Harp Filek for 54 years until her passing in 2008. Hank is survived by two younger siblings; brother James C. Filek (Bonnie); and sister, Thereasa Crabb (Ray).

Also left to cherish Hank's memories of a life well lived and loved, are his daughter, Rebecca Lynne Filek Mjelde; full-time caregiver & son-in-law, Marcus Todd Higgins; granddaughter, Catherine Nicole Carpenter; grandson, Knut Henry Mjelde; great-granddaughters, Willoh Magdalena Grace Carpenter and Nell Hilda Mjelde; great-grandson, Lars Henry Mjelde; and nieces, nephews, and cousins.

Hank was a loving and devoted husband, father, grandfather, great-grandfather, friend and colleague. He will be forever in our hearts as we remember, love, and miss him. He was respected by all who knew him. He was a member of the Veteran’s of Foreign Wars (V.F.W. - Korea Campaign) and the Fraternal Order of Police (F.O.P.). He was an ‘honorary’ member of the St. Gregory the Great Catholic Church Men’s Club. He looked forward to working Bingo every Friday night, the Spaghetti Dinner, escorting his great-granddaughter, Grace, to the ‘Daddy-Daughter’ dance, etc. for more than 15 years.

Hank’s time was divided between working jobs he loved, volunteer work, and spending time with family. Family was always extremely important to him. At times, work and family intersected. For over 25 years Hank worked as a stage hand for the City of Norfolk. He did this work part-time in the evenings, on week-ends, and holidays. He worked as an electrician, manned the spotlights, did the rigging for special effects, etc. He also pulled the family in to work wardrobe for the numerous Broadway Plays and other events at Scope and Chrysler Hall. He finally retired from ‘retirement’. He served honorably in the U.S. Navy, as both Active-Duty and as a Reservist, and later retired as a Civil Servant from the Department of the Navy, Department of Defense. He was then accepted to the City of Norfolk Police Academy. At the graduation, his fellow students nominated & awarded him “Rookie of the Year.” He was competing against a class of young 20-something’s and on several occasions, performed at levels that exceeded all expectations and was above and beyond the performance of his fellow classmates. After serving the City of Norfolk for 5 years, he reached the age for mandatory retirement again. His next adventure/opportunity was going back to school and graduating as a Deputy Sheriff. After another 5 years, he hit the maximum age again and retired from the State of Virginia. He later worked a few years as a security guard for the MHI Shipyard. Even at the age of 92, he would make sure his resume was up to date and would apply for multiple jobs that interested him.

Family will receive friends on Wednesday, July 15, 2026 from 6:00 p.m. - 8:00 p.m. for a visitation at the Woodlawn Funeral Home & Memorial Gardens, 6329 E. Virginia Beach Blvd., Norfolk, VA 23502. The Catholic Mass will be at St. Gregory the Great Catholic Church, 5345 Virginia Beach Blvd., Virginia Beach, VA 23462 on Thursday, July 16, 2026 at 10:00 a.m. followed by a graveside funeral service at the Woodlawn Memorial Gardens. There will be a Lunch Reception immediately following the graveside funeral service in the Woodlawn Funeral Home. Family, friends and other guests will have the opportunity to share “Hank Stories” (only clean, funny ones!) if they would like.

Condolences may be offered to the family online at dignitymemorial.com. We welcome everyone to share their stories online. Hank lived a long life full of great times (some not so great!), memories of love, hard work, laughter, family, integrity & honesty, travel, etc. and it would be wonderful for anyone to share theirs!

Flowers are always loved and welcome but those that may wish to do something in Hank’s memory may make gifts in his memory to one of the following charities or, one of your choice:

- A Living Tribute @ shop.alivingtribute.org // [email protected] // 500 West Putnam Avenue, Suite 400, Greenwich, CT 06830

- The Virginia Beach Volunteer Rescue Squad @ vbvrs.org // (757) 437-4830 // 740 Virginia Beach, VA 23451

- The American Heart Association @ heart.org // (757) 497-0436 // 4669 South Blvd., Virginia Beach, VA 23452