Obituary of John Pollak, Jr.
Hilton Head Island, South Carolina – John Pollak Jr. of Port Royal Plantation, passed away on January 19, 2022. He is survived by his wife of 63 years Patricia (Greene) Pollak; daughter Pam Hepp; son-in-law Louis Hepp; daughter Gwen Farley; son JC Pollak; daughter-in-law Christine Pollak; daughter Wendy Shambra; son-in-law Anand Katragadda; 12 grandchildren - Christopher Hepp, Michael Hepp, David Hepp, Halley Shambra, Jillian Farley, Marin Pollak, John C. Pollak Jr., Matthew Farley, Nicholas Pollak, Kevin Katragadda, Russell Katragadda, and Lilly Katragadda; sister Joyce Hensch; brother-in-law Richard Hensch of Mahwah, NJ.
John was born in Wallington, NJ, the son of John Pollak and Catherine (Sondey) Pollak and attended high school at East Rutherford High School where he met his wife. He went on to be a student-athlete and graduated from Rutgers University in 1958. He was also a member and President of the DU house at Rutgers.
John spent his career in the pharmaceutical industry. He excelled as a salesman and was the Head of Sales and Marketing at several large pharmaceutical companies, including Pfizer, Beecham Massengill, and Boehringer Ingelheim. His career led him from NJ to Chicago, IL, Seattle, WA, Upper Saddle River, NJ, Wilton, CT, and Madison, WI.
He and his wife retired to Port Royal Plantation on Hilton Head Island 15 years ago. He served on the Port Royal Golf Club Board and the Port Royal Landowners Board.
John loved sports, he was an accomplished baseball and football player early in his life and an exceptional baseball and football coach. He was a lifelong skier, golfer, and biker. He contributed his time working with local high school mentorship programs and with Habitat for Humanity and enjoyed attending the World Affairs lectures.
John was a devoted husband, father, grandfather, coach, and friend. He was proud of his four children and 12 grandchildren and was an avid NY Yankees and Giants fan.
A Mass of Christian Burial will be held at Saint Francis by the Sea Catholic Church in Hilton Head on February 4, 2022, at 10 am and in lieu of flowers please consider a donation to the Port Royal Community Charitable Fund (a 501(c)(3)).
Donations in memory of John Pollak Jr. may be made to the Port Royal Community Charitable Fund, care of Community Foundation of the Lowcountry. Please designate in memory of John Pollak Jr. The link for donations is https://cflowcountry.civicore.com/Port-Royal-Community-Charitable-Fund. Checks can be sent to the Community Foundation of the Lowcountry—Port Royal Community Charitable Fund, P O Box 23019, Hilton Head Island, SC 29925. Please note on the check that the contribution is in memory of John Pollak, Jr.
