Eugene N. Bilenker

Eugene N. Bilenker, 92, a retired vice president of quality assurance and R&D for the Great Atlantic & Pacific Tea Co. (A&P), died in Elizabeth, N.J., on Oct. 19, 2013.

Born in Brooklyn, N.Y., Bilenker obtained a B.A. in biology at Brooklyn College in 1942 and an M.S. in dairy manufacturing at the University of Connecticut, Storrs, in 1943. He served in World War II as a technical sergeant in charge of clinical chemistry at U.S. Army General Hospitals. After the war, he earned a Ph.D. in food technology at Massachusetts Institute of Technology in 1956.

Bilenker was a section head of Curtiss-Wright Corp.’s industrial and scientific products division, project leader in General Foods’ Maxwell House Division, director of quality control at T. J. Lipton (now part of Unilever), and director of quality assurance at Wakefern Food Corp. From 1975 until his retirement in 1997, he served as vice president of quality assurance and R&D for the A&P chain of supermarkets. He was an emeritus member of ACS, joining in 1947.

A resident of Elizabeth since 1958, Bilenker was an active member of the Jewish Federation of Central New Jersey. He was a member of the Food Lodge of B’nai B’rith and the Jewish Educational Center.

He is survived by his wife, Ruth; daughters, Susan and Vicki; son, Jim; and two granddaughters.