Adolph ‘Sonny’ Densieski

Adolph “Sonny” Densieski, 85, a life-long resident of Riverhead, passed away March 28, 2019, at East End Hospice Kanas Center for Hospice Care in Westhampton Beach after a brief illness.

Born in Riverhead March 7, 1934, Sonny went to work at an early age. He was a U.S. Navy veteran and served aboard the USS Newport News, a Des Moines-class heavy cruiser, on which he sailed around the world twice. 

Upon his discharge, he returned to Riverhead and married his wife, Shirley (Niensted). They were married for 59 years until her passing in 2015.

Always an avid outdoorsman, Sonny would hunt raccoons on what was then, a very rural North Fork. He was also the owner of several champion coonhounds.

Sonny was a family man of great mechanical talent who could build almost anything. He worked at Brookhaven National Laboratory for 30 years and was a Coast Guard-licensed captain who ran sportfishing boats on the weekends. He captained boats large and small and loved fishing big game offshore in his 20-foot center console. 

Sonny also spent over 30 years as the track welder at Riverhead Raceway where he was known as “Iron Man.” He was a mentor to young drivers and their crews and he and Shirley were well-respected and very active members of the local NASCAR community.

Sonny was outgoing and friendly, a good joke teller with a repertoire of thousands of jokes, whose advice on projects large and small was sought by all. And he couldn’t be beat at his favorite boardgame, Scrabble, even into his 80s. Sonny led an active and happy life and was still putting miles on his bicycle until very recently. 

Sonny was predeceased by his parents; his wife; and his and three brothers and two sisters. He is survived by his two sons and daughters-in-law Theodore (Joann) and Edward (Annmarie); his four granddaughters Lesley, Jessie, Cassie and Jamie; and his two great-grandchildren Jackson and Ellington.

A wake will be held Monday, April 1, 2019, from 2 to 4 p.m. and 7 to 9 p.m. at McLaughlin Heppner Funeral Home, 336 Marcy Ave., Riverhead. A service will take place Tuesday, April 2, at 10 a.m. at the funeral home followed by interment at Calverton National Cemetery.

This is a paid notice.