Obituary of Jacob Peter Palenik

Jacob Peter "Jake" Palenik was born September 21, 1936 to Joseph Palenik and Irene Hazel Hessberger in Maybrook, New York. He passed away on December 11, 2023 at the Hillsboro Medical Center in the town where he last resided. Jake was that rare breed of person who said what he did and did what he said, creating a sense of trust and safety for all of those around him, especially his family. Jake was raised in the railroad village of Maybrook. Both of his parents passed away when he was a child, and he was raised by his aunt Frank and uncle Cecil. His father Joseph and uncle Cecil both worked for the railroad, and Jake often told stories of collecting spilled coal along the tracks to heat their home during World War II. Jake’s affinity for railroads never waned as he often found books, built model railroads and even engineered a steam locomotive on the Sumpter Valley Railroad in Oregon in his later years. Jake spoke highly of living in the railroad village of Maybrook where he fished at the local reservoir and played baseball in high school. Jake joined the United States Air Force in 1956 where he rose to the rank of Tech. Sergeant and continued to play baseball. He was a communications technician and repaired radios and other communications equipment. He gained a cryptologic clearance, or top security clearance, during his duty. His military career took him to Greenland, Washington D.C., Florida, the Mediterranean and Texas. Jake also served a year in Vietnam during the war, August 71 to August 72. He was awarded the Bronze Star for his service in Vietnam. While in Panama City, Florida, Jake met Karen Ann Hadley of Hillsboro, OR., in June of 1966 while Karen was visiting a friend . The couple quickly fell in love and were married in September of the same year. The military kept the couple busy. They moved 6 times in 11 years. The couple had their first child, Kathleen, on March 15 in 1969. She was born in Germany. Their second child, Peggy, followed on Dec. 7, 1971 in Hillsboro, OR. Jake retired as an E6 with full military benefits after serving his country for 21 years. His final post was in San Antonio, and he and Karen and their two daughters moved back to Karen’s hometown of Hillsboro, OR., in 1977. Jake started a second career working as a troubleshooter and copier repairman for 3M Company in Portland. During those years, Jake enjoyed raising his family, helping out on the Hadley Farm, working on cars, and coin collecting. He was also into tech, getting one of the first home computers, an original cell phone the size of a child’s boot and the latest in digital cameras. His incredible attention to detail, and his curiosity of all things mechanical, came in handy in later years when he wired two breaker boxes, one at each of his daughter’s homes. Jake’s second career with 3M lasted until 1998, when he retired for a second time. He is survived by his wife Karen (Hadley) Palenik; two daughters Kathleen (Palenik) Johnson and her husband Mike, Peggy Irene Palenik-Peterson and her Husband Tom; four grandchildren Matthew Johnson and his wife Amanda, Sarah (Johnson) Don and her husband Nathan; Emily Peterson, and Celia Peterson; and two great grandchildren Lulu and Axel. He was preceded in death by his parents, brother Joseph Palenik Jr. and sister Irene “Tootsie” Moore.