Henry Thomas Zachau of Southport, North Carolina and formerly of Forked River, New Jersey passed away on Friday, January 27, 2023 at age 70.  Henry is survived by his wife Loren, sisters-in-law Karen Van Orden, Olympia and Michele Auchter, bothers-in-law Clifford and Glen Auchter, nieces Courtney and Morgan Auchter, Victoria DePalma, nephews Joseph, Douglas and Sean Auchter, John Van Orden and Jake Jahada, grand nephew Roddy. Henry is predeceased by his parents Herman and Shirley Zachau, his sister Lois Jane Jahada.

Henry was born in Irvington, New Jersey on July 30, 1952.  He grew up in nearby Springfield, and once married lived in Hillsborough, NJ, Easton PA, Princeton Junction NJ, Forked River NJ and relocated to Southport, NC in 2021.

Henry worked in the printing and publishing industry throughout his career finishing with employment at DuPont and Agfa.

At a young age, Henry had a fascination with cars which began with fabricating and building a soapbox derby car at the age of 11.  After losing his on his first attempt, he learned from his mistakes and built a car the following year that earned him the NJ State Championship title. This automatically advanced him to the National Championship  held in Akron, OH.  This grew into an adult passion for grown up cars of all types.

Over the years Henry chased another of his passions –  boating and fishing.  He started with small power boats that gradually got bigger but realized he needed to make changes to accommodate his relentlessly sea sick wife.  He then took up sailing with a catamaran so his wife could join him and be comfortable. Over the next 15 years they vacationed and navigated over 20,000 nautical miles to points as far north as West Point, Nantucket, the Potomac, the Chesapeake, the eastern US inter-coastal waterways through to the Florida Keys.

Henry always took care of his family members first and was a helpful person to everyone he knew.  He helped friends, the elderly and neighbors with car problems, appliance problems, plumbing problems.  He even cooked food for friends who were sick.  He was always there to lend a hand to who ever needed assistance.  His generosity with his time and gift of skills was unending.

Visiting hours will be held on Friday, February 10, from 11:00 – 12:30 followed by a Memorial Celebration from 12:30 – 1:00. The service will also be available via live stream.