Obituary: Gerhard P. Deneke, 80, of Redding

REDDING, CT --- Gerhard P. Deneke, 80, of Redding, passed away on April 25, 2018. He was the loving husband of the late Elizabeth Deneke, who passed in 2004.

Mr. Deneke was born in Celle, Germany on April 11, 1938; a son of the late Maxwell and Elsa (Pawlizky) Deneke.

Gerhard was known to many as Gerry, or as he called himself "the old fart." Gerry came to America in 1949 with his family and attended the Manhattan School of Aviation. He had a love of flying he shared with his father and his son, Mitchell. While attending school, Gerry taught himself English and started working in advertising. He worked his way up to CFO of Hoffman Advertising where he worked until 1984, when he joined Miller Advertising. Gerry never retired; he had a love for music; if Gerry was around, so was Glenn Miller. He was an avid collector of big band music and of radio shows and sound bites of times past; along with old time movies and shows. Gerry was also known for his great sense of humor; always with his smile and his caring nature.

In 1959, he married Elizabeth Plavnicky. They settled in Redding in 1971. Gerry was a member of many German clubs and a proud sponsor of the TUS Celle Soccer Team in Celle, Germany for which Gerry played as a child.

He is survived by his daughter, Donna Lee C. Dexter and her husband, Paul. He is also survived by six grandchildren and 10 great-grandchildren, whom he loved to spoil and to whom he was known as the great grand-poohbah. In addition to his wife, Elizabeth, Mr. Deneke was predeceased by his son, Mitchell Deneke.