Burpee, Carpenter & Hutchins Funeral Home

OWLS HEAD - Pauline Zenkus, 91, died peacefully, surrounded by family, Sunday, May 10, 2015 at Pen Bay Medical Center in Rockport.
Born December 11, 1923 in Seymour, Connecticut, she was the daughter of Anthony and Annie Klimovich Bariluk. Educated in Connecticut, she was a 1941 graduate of Ansonia High School.

Following high school, Pauline was employed as a riveter for Vought Aircraft during World War II. She loved to recount how, due to her small stature, she was often asked to sneak into small spaces to rivet where larger men could not reach.

On November 24, 1945, Pauline married William John Zenkus at St. Anthony’s Catholic Church in Ansonia. Together they made their home in Connecticut their entire married life. When her children were young, Mrs. Zenkus remained at home, always active in their lives.

Later she returned to the workforce, helping to open a Bradlee’s Department Store in Derby, Connecticut. She was proud to have served as an office manager there for many years. Her daughter remembers she completed payroll for the entire store, long before there were computer programs to assist with that task.

About five years after the death of her husband in 1980, Mrs. Zenkus moved to Owls Head where she happily resided with her daughter and son-in-law. She loved the ocean, being near it and watching the boats pass by. She kept busy with handicrafts, especially sewing. One accomplishment was creating and sewing all the napkins, tablecloths and curtains for her daughter and son-in-law’s restaurant, ‘The Benner House’ in Rockland. Any family member she could draft assisted with this project. More recently she has enjoyed knitting, making scarfs for each family member. Her latest and most passionate project was making sure she completed 18 scarves for the members of the Oceanside High School Winter Special Olympics Team. With skeins of red and white yarn at her side, she has been working hard to complete this project. Her family promised to continue her mission.

Mrs. Zenkus will be remembered as a peacemaker, one who would not stand for any discord in her family. She was always the one to make sure people made-up and didn’t let differences come between them. She was warm and loving and her home was always filled with family and friends. Her daughter said she had a wonderful sense of humor and not a mean bone in her body. She will be sadly missed by all who loved her.

Predeceased by her beloved husband; Mrs. Zenkus is survived by her children, Cynthia Ann Nelson and her husband Charles of Owls Head, William Zenkus, Jr. and his wife Jacqueline of Seymour, CT; her grandchildren, Shannon Ducret and her husband Paul, Brianna Zenkus, Sean Zenkus; great-granddaughters Kaitlyn Carver and Rebecca Ducret; her sister-in-law and close friend Jane Bariluk; as well as many nieces and nephews.

A memorial service and burial at St. Augustine Cemetery in Connecticut will be announced at a later date.

Mrs. Zenkus loved animals, especially the Newfoundland dogs who lived in her household over the years. Donations may be made, in her memory, to Pope Memorial Humane Society of Knox County, P.O. Box 1294, Rockland, Maine 04841.

Arrangements are in the care of Burpee, Carpenter & Hutchins Funeral Home, 110 Limerock Street, Rockland.