In Memory
Jogger dies along canal
A young Levittown man collapsed and died Wednesday evening while jogging on the towpath of the Lehigh Canal in Bethlehem.
Joseph C. Hendrzak Jr., 21 of Foxwood Manor Apartments, was found floating in the canal by this fiancé , Karen Ernst of Bethlehem.
Miss Ernst had been jogging with Hendrzak, but left him when she became tired. After waiting for him to return to their car, she searched the towpath area and discovered his body.
Bethlehem police ruled the death accidental and an autopsy was ordered to determine exact cause of death.
Hendrzak, a recent graduate of Lehigh University, had been a member of the ROTC unit and was commissioned as a second lieutenant.
The 1972 Bensalem High School graduate was due to begin an Army tour of duty soon. He was a member of Alpha Epsilon Pi fraternity and the Chess Foundation.
He is survived by his parents, Joseph C. and Doris Lewis Hedrzak of Levittown.
The funeral will be Monday at 9 a.m. from Tomlinson Funeral Home, 2207 Bristol Pike. Cornwells Heights. The Mass of Christian Burial will be celebrated at 10 a.m. at St. Charles Borremeo Roman Catholic Church, Cornwells Heights.
Interment will be at Resurrection Cemetery, Cornwells Heights.
Friends may call Sunday 7 to 9 p.m.
Contributions may be sent to the Lt. Joseph C. Hendrzak Jr. Memorial Scholarship Fund, Alpha Epsilon Pi fraternity, Lehigh University, UPO F40, Bethlehem, PA 18105.
August 1976
Edward Alcoff (1972)
"Joey" was a good friend of mine in 9th/10th grade. We played chess together and he was a good HAM radio operator. His mom worked in the school admin office. He apparently died while running along the Delaware canal when he a senior at Lehigh U. He was in ROTC and engaged to be married at the time, from what I heard.His Mom & Dad were really nice and he was their only child. I still think of him 34 yrs later.