Loved ones remember Denk’s humor, selflessness

He spent his time in the Naval Hospital assisting the ward nurses and helping other patients.

This is a pillar of who Denk was as a person — someone who constantly put others ahead of himself.

Those who didn’t already know him learned his name in 2002, when he singlehandedly wrestled a gun from a man who opened fire in Our Lady of Peace Roman Catholic Church.

The gunman killed the Rev. Larry Penzes and parishioner Eileen Tosner, and was still firing when Denk tackled him to the floor, grabbing the barrel of the gun and preventing any more deaths.

“Gerry’s a hero, plain and simple,” said Steve Grogan, a family friend and former captain of the Lynbrook Fire Department.“

If he weren’t there, many more lives would have been lost.”

“My parents were sitting right behind Mrs. Tosner at that Mass,” Greg Murphy wrote in a Facebook post. “Gerry Denk probably saved their lives.”

The announcement of Denk’s death was met with an outpouring of condolences on social media — a testament to the many lives he touched as a shining light in his community. Though dozens of comments highlighted his bravery in 2002, even more spoke of his kindness and his friendship. To those who knew him, Denk was more than a local hero — he was a friend, a husband, a father.

Gerry and Louise first met in eighth grade, and were “inseparable ever since,” Schanck wrote. They married in 1982, and more than 40 years of marriage followed. When Gerry was diagnosed last July with throat cancer, Louise’s courage and resilience — as well as their children Tara’s and Gregory’s — helped him face the challenge.

“Louise always called Gerry her rock,” Schanck wrote. “But Louise became his