A Mass of Christian Burial will be celebrated May 3 in St. Dorothea Church, Eatontown, for Renato N. Gadenz, who died April 29. He was 89.
Mr. Gadenz was the father of Father Pablo Gadenz, a priest of the Diocese who currently serves on the faculty of Mount St. Mary Seminary, Emmitsburg, Md.
A resident of Tinton Falls, Mr. Gadenz was born in 1935 in San Martino di Castrozza in the province of Trent in the Italian Alps. After World War II, he and his family settled in Chile where he received a degree from the University of Chile. He also earned a master’s degree from the University of Pittsburgh.
Returning to Italy for a summer visit in 1961, he met his future wife, Cecilia Turra. They married in 1963 and together they raised three children.
Mr. Gadenz worked as the head of the electrical engineering department at the University of Chile. After his family moved to Los Angeles, he earned a doctorate from the University of California at Los Angeles in 1972. In 1973, the family moved to Tinton Falls where he worked at AT&T Bell Labs in Holmdel. He was on the team that designed the first AT&T digital signal processors. His job later gave him the opportunity to present seminars around the world.
In St. Dorothea Church, Mr. Gadenz was active as an extraordinary minister of Holy Communion, which included his bringing the Eucharist to the residents of an area rehabilitation hospital. He was also a member of a prayer group and participated in Bible studies. He and Cecilia also helped to establish and organize the parish’s Adoration program.
Mr. Gadenz was predeceased by his parents, Rodolfo and Maria Pia Gadenz and his wife, Cecilia, to whom he was married 56 years. In addition to his priest-son he is survived by a daughter, Maria (and her husband, Michael) Stanton Jr., a son, Rodolfo (and his wife, Amalia), and a grandson, all living in New Jersey or New York. He is also survived by a sister, two sisters-in-law and many nieces and nephews and their families, all of whom reside in Italy.
Burial will be in Mount Carmel Cemetery, West Long Branch. Memorial donations may be made to a charity of the donor’s choice.