James M. Denker, 83, of Scituate, Massachusetts, passed away peacefully Monday, September 28, 2020 at home with his wife of 62 years, Beryl, by his side. Jim was born in Scituate on April 21, 1937 to Hubert and Olive (Whitehead) Denker, and was a lifelong Scituate resident. He and Beryl first met at a party when he was 5 and she was 3. After years of competing for smartest student in the Scituate school system, Jim and Beryl reconnected when they were both students at MIT and were married soon after Jim’s graduation in 1958.
Jim was a design engineer and pioneer in the fields of hydraulics and pneumatics. After several years as a corporate engineer, his entrepreneurial spirit was satisfied when he started his own hydraulics company in his mid-20s. Jim’s career was engineering, and his hobby was woodworking (he and Beryl built the house on First Parish Road where they raised their family, and furnished it with handcrafted pieces Jim designed), but his passion was woodcarving. Always creative, in his later years he applied his engineering skills to his creative pursuits, developing many woodcarving tools. Up to the date of his death, he was actively working on his latest patent.
Jim is survived by his wife, Beryl (Sylvester), his daughter, Karen and her husband, Brian McKenna, of Scituate, his son Jeff and his wife, Karyn Van De Mark, of Woburn, and grandchildren, Katie and Jenna Denker.
Visiting hours Friday, October 2, 2020 from 4-8 PM at Richardson-Gaffey Funeral Home, 382 First Parish Road, Scituate, Massachusetts. Burial at 11 AM Saturday, October 3, at Groveland Cemetery in Scituate (Studley Royal Road). In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to the Scituate Animal Shelter, 780 Chief Justice Cushing Highway (Rt. 3A), Scituate, MA 02066, or a charity of your choice.
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