Obituary of Joseph B. Dillenbeck

Joseph B. Dillenbeck, a former insurance executive and later general manager of the Montclair Golf Club, died Feb. 18, 2009. He was 83. A memorial gathering for family and friends will be held at the Montclair Golf Club, 25 Prospect Ave., West Orange, on Saturday, March 14, at 11 a.m. Born in Salt Lake City, Mr. Dillenbeck was raised in Southern California and graduated from Swarthmore College in Pennsylvania in 1947. As a young adult, he worked in sales for the Johns-Manville Corp. before embarking on a long career in the commercial insurance industry. He owned insurance brokerage Henry E. Wood Associates in New York, selling the business to Reed Stenhouse in the early 1980s. In 1986, he retired as executive vice president of insurance company, Alexander & Alexander Services, which had acquired Reed Stenhouse. A golf lover, Mr. Dillenback was a member of the Montclair Golf Club in West Orange for more than five decades, serving stints as president and board member and chairing the U.S. Amateur Championship when the club hosted the event in 1985. After leaving the insurance field, he agreed to serve as general manager of the Montclair club. In his five years on the job, he was known for his devotion to employees, starting a member-funded account to help pay a longtime bar attendant's medical bills and arranging a memorial service and plaque for a dining room manager who had passed away. The Montclair club honored him with its Outstanding Member Award in 1986. He also enjoyed golfing at Jonathan's Landing Golf Club in Jupiter, Fla., his home state, later in life. He maintained a second home in Roseland, N.J. Mr. Dillenbeck is survived by his wife, Peggy O'Neill Dillenbeck; two daughters, Debbie Turner and Cynthia Chartrand; his sister, Noma Cox and four grandchlidren, Ian and Brendan Healy and Ashley and Clifford Breakfield. He leaves two stepchildren, Amy DiSibio and Jonathan Everett and five step-grandchildren. He is also survived by sisters-in-law, Joan Zebrowski, Barbara Day, Sally Meyer, Patsy O'Neill and Liz Perry; brothers-in-law, Roger O'Neill, John O'Neill, Steve O'Neill and Jack O'Neill and all of their spouses and children. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the St. Barnabas Hospice and Palliative Care Center, 95 Old Short Hills Rd. West Orange, N.J. 07052.