Richard A. Hendel, 74, of Coventry, began his eternal life on Wednesday, December 12, 2018 after bravely fighting cancer for 14 years with his beloved wife Karen (Brandenstein) Hendel of 52 years, by his side. Richard was born and raised in West Hempstead, NY, to the late Raymond and Jane (Pakulska) Hendel. After graduating from Adelphi University with a B.S. in Accounting in 1969, he joined the family business, Joseph A. Hendel Plumbing & Heating Co. in NY. After working there for over 30 years he retired in 2000. He and Karen moved their large family to Coventry Lake where they owned and operated the Coventry Laundromat. He was a communicant of St. Mary’s Church for 45 years. Richard enjoyed living by the lake, reading, history, photography, and hiking.
He will be greatly missed by his sister Nancy (Art) Roberts, his children: Richard (Denise) Hendel, Kristine (Neil) Markey, Deborah (Vincent) Buonauro, Janice, Daniel, John, Katie, Amy (Alex) Girshick, Matthew (Monica) Hendel, Laurie (James) Martell, Joseph, Steven, Brian, Michael, Melissa, Craig, Megan, Nicholas, Mathew, Courtney, the late Thomas and his 25 grandchildren and two great grandchildren.
Relatives and friends are welcome to join the family for viewing hours on Dec 17th from 2pm - 4pm and 7pm -9pm at Coventry-Pietras Funeral Home, 2665 Boston Tpke, Coventry. A Mass of Christian Burial will take place on Dec 18th at 10:30am, St. Mary’s Church, 1600 Main St, Coventry. (Please meet at church) Burial will follow at St. Mary’s Cemetery. For online condolences, please visit www.pietrasfuneralhome.com