Henry J. Angiel
March 31, 1936 - July 20, 2019
Funeral Mass for Henry J. Angiel will be held at 12:00 Thursday, July 25th at Holy Family Catholic Church with Father Phil Seeton, officiating. Interment with full military honors will follow at Fort Sill National Cemetery under the direction of Whinery Huddleston Funeral Service.
Henry was born on the family farm March 31, 1936 in Czymin, Poland. When Henry was just six the Nazis took possession of the farm and the Angiel family was put in cattle cars and relocated to Germany for a life of slave labor on a German dairy farm until the end of the war, often risking execution to steal food to survive. When the war ended they were relocated to a displaced persons camp where they received word that a Catholic priest in the United States was willing to sponsor the family allowing them to immigrate to the United States. They arrived in the United States on July 7th, 1951. Henry enlisted in the Air Force on August 30, 1954 and became a naturalized citizen on July 7th, 1957. While a young man serving in the military, Henry met and soon married Bernadine Redenski in November of 1958. Together they had two sons, Richard and James and were together until Bernadine's death in July 2018.
Henry worked as an Air Traffic Controller for most of his 26 years in the Air Force. After retirement he accepted a Civil Service ATC position at Fort Sill. He continued in that position and even found time to earn an Associates degree in 1986 and a Bachelor of Business Administration in 1988 from Cameron University. When he finally decided to relax, Henry retired with over 50 years of Government service. His desire to serve still burned after retirement and he volunteered for the Red Cross at the Fort Sill Pharmacy which continued until the cancer made it impossible to continue.
During his retirement years Henry was fortunate to take a trip with his twin grandchildren, his sister Helen and her family back to Poland to visit the extended family. His two older sisters returned to Poland after the war and were eventually able to reclaim the family farm, Henry was able to see the home he was born in.
Papa, as he was referred to by all of his Oklahoma family, loved cooking and gardening, often growing the fresh herbs and peppers that he incorporated into his dishes. He was always willing to bring multiple dishes to family gatherings which were enthusiastically devoured. He also loved making lunches for his grandchildren to take to school and providing snacks for them when they returned home. When his son James and his wife Betsy were out of town for sporting events with some of their children he always volunteered to provide lunch or dinner for the ones that remained at home.
Upon his diagnosis, Henry being an unbelievably strong-willed man, chose to enjoy what life he had left and took trips to Las Vegas and to Italy to see Rome and Venice. Given only months to live, and trying to enjoy the life he had left, he cast aside his discomfort and fought to stay alive to insure his affairs were all in order. With the help of his family and frequent visits from the Hospice staff he was able to stay and live comfortably in his own home. Once assured that all had been taken care of to his specifications he was able to announce, "I'm done." and drift off peacefully.
Henry lived the American Dream. He arrived in this country with nothing, little formal education and speaking only in his native language. He worked hard and succeeded in everything he put his mind to. He was a brilliant, determined and strong individual who will be greatly missed by all who knew him.
Henry J. Angiel passed away peacefully at his home at the age of 83 on Saturday, the 20th of July, 3 months and 20 days after being diagnosed with pancreatic cancer during a birthday trip to the ER for some "discomfort" in his stomach.
Henry was preceded in death by his wife Bernadine, his parents and two older sisters. He is survived by his baby sister Helen, her husband Ray Miller and their extended family of Santa Rosa, California. His son James with his wife Betsy and their six children Meagan, Jacob, Sarah, Nate, Eli and Ben, of Lawton, Oklahoma and his son Richard, with his wife Lynn and their three children Brian, Johnny and Kylie of Palm Bay, Florida.
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