Schenck, Hilbert Van Nydeck II “Van” of Wellesley, Cambridge, Boston, and Maine died peacefully at home after a long hard fought battle with cancer on June 28th 2018. He was surrounded by his loving family and dear friends. Van was born on July 30th, 1958 to the late Garret Schenck and Sudie (Williams) Schenck. Van grew up on Beacon Hill. He attended Deerfield Academy and The University of Virginia where he was a member of the Delta Kappa Epsilon fraternity. He was a partner in Knapp Schenck & Company and Massamont Insurance Agency. When Massamont was purchased by Argo Group in 2007, he became President of the Alteris business group at Argo. In 2015, after he left Argo Group, he joined Paragon Insurance Holdings, where he became President. Van was the great grandson of Garret Schenck, who founded the Great Northern Paper Company in Millinocket, Maine. Van maintained a deep connection with the state, where his love of cooking and hosting his friends was always on display at his properties, the Great Northern Lodge in Newry and Camp Little W on Moosehead Lake. Maine was also his favorite place to ski, fly fish, and play golf, all of which he enjoyed immensely. His humor, brilliance and zest for life will be missed terribly by his life long friends and family.
Van is survived by his wife of almost 33 years, Michon (Mahony) Schenck who loved and adored him right up until his last breath. His son, Hilbert “Hib” Van Nydeck Schenck III, a cancer survivor himself, was the light and center of Van’s life. Also surviving him, are his mother Sudie Schenck and her husband Steven Goodwin, as well as his brother Christopher Schenck and his wife Eroica Schenck their children Forest and Rowena, and brother Garret “Trip” Schenck.
Visiting hours will be Thursday, July 5 at 4-8PM at the George F. Doherty & Sons Funeral Home, 477 Washington St. (Rt.16), Wellesley. Family and friends are invited to his service at 11:00 AM on Friday, July 6 at Church of the Redeemer, 379 Hammond St, Chestnut Hill, MA, 02467. Interment will follow at Newton Cemetery.
In lieu of flowers, friends and family are encouraged to support Hib’s Pan Mass ride this year on team Van-Guard, created to honor his late father’s fight. 100% of all donations will go to support the Dana Farber Cancer Institute, where both Hib and Van were treated. Gifts can be made at Hib’s fundraising page: profile.pmc.org/HS0130