Darryl Paul Zdenek

Darryl Paul Zdenek was born and grew up in Haverstraw, New York on the shores of the Hudson River. From an early age he demonstrated a strong interest in reading and learning about the earth sciences, astronomy and military history. These interests continued as he grew and expanded to included farming, cooking and the study of wine. He graduated from SUNY Maritime College in 1964 and served in the Merchant Marine as a deck officer for four years. He proudly served as an officer in the US Navy Reserve on Military Sea Transport Service ships delivering supplies to our troops in Vietnam. He also served on American Export Isbrandtsen Line ships the SS Constitution and SS Independence. He was a sailor in love with the sea. He relished the histories touched by the world’s oceans and collected scrimshaw and maritime artifacts. After his seagoing years, he worked as an engineer and advocate for the newly evolving field of Materials Requirements Planning and the first attempts at Just in Time Manufacturing and the integrated supply chain. On retirement he bought a farm in the tiny hamlet of Roseboom near Cooperstown, NY where he renovated a pre-Civil War farm house and raised chickens in addition to growing vegetables and raising bees. He was active in his retirement and was a popular lecturer at CCAL (The Center for Continuing Adult Learning). His lectures on the war in the Pacific were very successful. They were heavily researched and replete with photographs, specifications and tactics of each side’s weaponry and how they affected the strategies and outcomes of battles and the war in the Pacific. When the farm became too much for him, he moved to Oneonta, NY for three years and then when he became frail, he moved to the Apple Blossom Home near Pittsburgh to be near his eldest son where he died on January 7, 2025. He is survived by his sisters Karen (Paul) Nielsen and Melissa (Dennis) Danelowski. His son Eric (a Project Manager at BNY in Pittsburgh) his wife Lisa and their daughter Ava; Michael (Master Sargeant in the USAF at Langley AFB) his wife Erika and their son Miles. Darryl was laid to rest in Haverstraw on March 22nd at the Zdenek family plot in Mount Repose Cemetery overlooking the shores of the Hudson River.

Darryl Paul Zdenek

May 18, 1942 - January 7, 2025