The man who once owned and operated the marina at the location of the present day Hammonds’ Cove Marina passed away on February 1 in Florida at the age of 78..
George Stenderhoff Sr., the former owner of the Locust Point Marina – also known as the Stenderhoff Marina – passed away peacefully in Florida. His passing capped off a life of both community service and active entrepreneurship in the Throggs Neck area.
Stenderhoff is remembered for running a flounder fishing charter trip to Quincy, Massachusetts from his family marina to raise money for the Throggs Neck Volunteer Ambulance Corps when it was first founded. He also played Santa Claus for children during the holiday season at the old Roy’s Toy Land at E. Tremont and Lafayette avenues.
“George was a surveyor by trade and a merchant marine,” said longtime friend Ralph Hitchens. “I stayed with him in his house in Florida during his final years, and the two of us rode our motorcycles together.”
Hitchens remembers Stenderhoff, whose family ran the marina on Harding Avenue from just after the end of World War II to the beginning of the new century, as an active archer who won several New York State titles, as well as a gentleman farmer who owned over 90 acres of land in Middleburgh, New York.
“If he went into something, he went in full bore,” Hitchens said. “He was an avid skier, took flying lessons, and played the organ. George was a Mason and Shriner. He was a really generous guy – a good friend – and I miss him terribly.”
Hitchens remembered that Stenderhoff often used the parking lot of the marina, he took over when his father passed away, to hold fundraisers for organizations benefiting the disabled.
James McQuade, the owner of the Schuyler Hill Funeral Home at 3535 E. Tremont Avenue and also a friend, remembers that there was more to Stenderhoff than what met the eye.
“He ran a tight ship as a businessman,” McQuade said. “He demanded respect, but he was also fair. I always remember that he had a heart of gold. He was the typical picture of a nautical sea captain, but underneath it all he had a caring heart for this community and for his friends.”
McQuade said that when someone in the community had a fundraiser, Stenderhoff would always be there.
“Whether it was for moral or financial support, George was always there for his neighbors,” McQuade said.
