Obituary of Svenward “Sven” Eike

Svenward Eike, 85, died on Tuesday August 15, 2006 at Compassionate Care Hospice in Dover. He was born in Haugesund, Norway and at 9 he came to Bay Ridge section of Brooklyn, NY where all the good squareheads lived in 1928, and later moving to the Lake Telemark section of Rockaway in 1943. Sven, drifted to a maritime career naturally, his father also had been a marine engineer. In 1938 he started working as an engineer on a tugboat in New York Harbor. World War II, however, soon interrupted that job. Serving with the Army transport unit, he helped build the Normandy Beach Harbors for the D-Day Invasion. The allied forces landed on a relatively open beach in Normandy. We had to provide a breakwater in the harbor for ships to unload. We also built floating bridges and pier heads. After the war he continued working aboard tugs for The Grace Line operating the engines on tugboats often towing barges of oil and gasoline carrying them as far as Erie Canal or Chicago. He and his wife the late Harriet purchased property in the 1930s on Lake Telemark section of Rockaway Township. Moving to Lake Telemark in 1939, his commute to New York was pre Route 80 and the Lincoln had only two tubes, so a commute up to four hours one way was common. In 1956 he became a marine sales engineer for the J. Arthur Moore Company in Hackensack, NJ. With his new job his commute became longer trips to Japan were common. He retired in 1986; his first few years of retirement were hard ones, struck with cancer, heart attacks and hospital stays. Being brand new on Medicare he started receiving numerous statements and bills, he struggled through his paper work and decided to beat the system. At the time he read that there was a Medicare Training session offered by the Morris County Retired Senior Volunteer Program, he attended learned well enough and was asked to help others in need. Sven, became an intricate and strong part of SHIP (Senior Health Insurance Program) and since its become CHIME (Counseling on Health Insurance for Medicare Enrollees). Sven, worked of his house, the Rockaway Township Municipal building and at St. Clares Hospital in Denville, he also made house calls for the homebound. He was a very special and gifted man who helped others. Sven loved golf and had played semi-pro soccer both in Brooklyn and in NJ, and he loved hockey and especially the N. Y. Rangers. His memberships include the Lake Telemark Country Club, Holy Trinity Lutheran Church, and the Northern District Rockaway Twp. Senior Citizens. He was a life member of the Sons of Norway Nor-Bu Lodge #427 in Rockaway Twp., and he was a member of Jephthah Masonic Lodge #233 F. & AM in Rockaway. In 1996 he became a Morris County Living Treasure. Sven volunteered thousands of hours helping senior citizens throughout Morris County as a counselor for SHIPs, Senior Health Insurance Program. He was a reliable, committed source of unbiased information and assistance to Morris County Medicare recipients. In 1996 he received the National Beneficiary Services Award in Baltimore. His wife Harriett Lewis Eike died in 1997. He is survived by his children Lorraine Benderoth of Mt. Arlington, and Douglas and his wife Bethann of Lake Telemark. Four Grandchildren Dianne Maka, Craig Benderoth, Tyler Eike, and Brielle Eike. And 4 great grandchildren John, Jesse, Justin, and Alyssa. Donations are being accepted to the Lake Telemark Country Club P. O. Box #14 Hibernia, NJ 07842, or to Holy Trinity Lutheran Church 508 Green Pond Rd. Rockaway, NJ 07866 or to the Sons of Norway Nor- Bu Lodge P.O.Box 317, Hibernia, NJ 07842 would be appreciated.