Obituary of Elwood Bengert

Elwood G. Bengert, the artist, died Tuesday, April 24, 2007 at his home in Wyckoff. He was 85. Born in Clifton, Mr. Bengert lived in Wyckoff for the past 40 years. He was a WW II Army veteran who served on the Western European front. Mr. Bengert graduated from Parsons School of Design in New York City and did graduate work in France and Italy. In 1960, he married Marie O' Neill of New York City, and together they opened Bengert Arts & Gifts in the Urban Farms Shopping Center, Franklin Lakes. For over a decade, the store was a showcase for Mr. Bengert's watercolors and his distinctive works on marble. It was during this period in his life that he captured local landmarks including Zabriskie Pond and Grace United Methodist Church in Wyckoff and the Cider Mill in Franklin Lakes. In 1990, Mr. Bengert, along with his partner Jock MacRae, opened the Bengert�"MacRae Gallery in Wyckoff. The Gallery displayed his most recent watercolors and served as a place of teaching and instruction. His talent lives on in the multitude of students he inspired. In the following decades and until he passed away, Elwood G. Bengert continued to paint. His work is owned by several private galleries on the East Coast and is held in numerous private collections. Elwood G. Bengert will best be remembered and admired for his unique and artistic ability, as demonstrated in fine watercolors of seascapes, landscapes, florals, as well as his unique work on marble. Surviving are his sons, John Christopher Bengert of Green Island, New York and Jeffrey Randolph Bengert of New York City. Family will receive friends on Friday 7:00-9:00 p.m. at the Vander Plaat Funeral Home, 257 Godwin Ave, Wyckoff, NJ. Funeral Service will be Saturday, April 28 at 9:00 a.m. at the Funeral Home followed by a burial. In lieu of flowers, donations in his memory can be made to the Ramapo-Bergen Animal Refuge, 2 Shelter Lane, Oakland, NJ 07436 or James A. McFaul Environmental Center, Crescent Ave. Wyckoff, NJ, 07481. www.vpfh.com