Leo J. Powelstock, 93, of St. Paul’s Greenville, Pennsylvania, previously of Oradell, New Jersey, passed away peacefully on Saturday, November 16, 2019. Leo is the son of the late John and Anna (Shyko) Powelstock was born in Jersey City, New Jersey on March 26, 1926. He married Elaine B. Antonoff on June 14, 1952, at the Russian Orthodox Cathedral in New York City; she survives.
Following high school Leo enlisted in the Army Air Corps, where he served as a radar mechanic and was honorably discharged in 1946. Leo graduated from the University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton School of Business in 1951, where he was an active member of the Beta Theta Pi fraternity. After college graduation he resided in New York City where he was employed as part of the management team at Bloomingdales in Manhattan. In 1964 he moved his family to Oradell, New Jersey, where he became Executive Director of the Better Business Bureau for Bergen, Passaic and Rockland Counties. He retired in 1994 after 31 dedicated years.
Leo was a long-time member of the Reformed Church of Oradell, where he served as an elder. He was a lifetime Rotarian and past president of the Paramus Rotary Club, as well as serving as coach and mentor for his children in sports.
Leo lived for his family. He adored his beloved wife Elaine and was especially proud of his children: Lisa Shafran (Joseph) of Columbus, IN, Suzanne Blair (Jeff) of Greenville, PA, and David Powelstock (Judith Arneson) of Belmont, MA, who survive him. He is also survived by his grandchildren, whom he adored.
He will be dearly missed by his family and friends, who knew him as a gentle soul with a lively sense of humor and profound compassion for mankind. He lived by the words from his favorite poem by Sam Walter Foss, “The Man by the Side of the Road”: “Let me live in my house by the side of the road / And be a friend to man.”
Contributions may be made in his memory to The Salvation Army and Feeding America.