Henry Tindal at his garage sale party last September. (Photo by Brian Donohue. Click to enlarge.)
By BRIAN DONOHUE
It’s not a metric we’ve ever heard used before, but it struck us one day last September that you could gauge how beloved a person is in their community using a simple measurement: horn honks.
It was a hot day, and we killed the better part of a morning hanging out curbside with Henry Tindal at his Locust Street home as he held a “Garage Sale Party” with cowboy hats, costumes and art for sale, along with the promise, writ on a cardboard sign, of free drinks. We pulled over and stayed a while.
And what struck us was this: the driver of seemingly every single car or truck that drove by would slow down or stop and beep their horn, wave and say hello to Tindal. What they got back was classic Henry: a booming hello, a brief friendly chat, or, in our case, a full hour-plus of wonderful conversation, stories, laughs and wisdom.
We had never seen or heard more horn honks in such a situation and we realized that it was unlikely anyone in this town could ever garner so many slow-downs, beep-beeps, happy hellos and genuine smiles than Henry Tindal. It might seem an odd metric, but it sure spoke volumes about who he was.
After decades in Red Bank, Henry Tindal moved away recently to his native South Carolina. And just a few weeks later, on February 17, he passed away. The longtime Red Banker, social worker, raconteur, cookbook author, chef, father, uncle, brother and beloved neighbor was 74 years old.
His family on Wednesday announced plans for a Celebration of Life Memorial Mass to honor him on March 22 at 11 am at the Church of St. Anselm in Tinton Falls, where he had been a parishoner.
We present his obituary, written and prepared by his family, below.
Henry Tindal, Jr. (Nu Nu), as he was affectionately known, was born in Sumter, South Carolina, March 13, 1950. Henry was the only child of Henry and Allie (McCoy) Tindal, chosen in love. His mother raised an older brother LeRoy McCoy before she was married to Henry Sr. His brother preceded him in death. He cherished fond memories of the time he and his brother had together.
Henry was raised in Christian household, they were a close knit family who loved the Lord and each other.
Henry attended the Sumter, South Carolina school system. He graduated from Lincoln High School in Sumter in 1967.
Following graduation, Henry’s adventurous spirit led him on a new northern journey. Henry briefly resided in Hempstead Queens, NY. Henry (NuNu) traveled to Philadelphia to spend time with his family. He resided with two of his aunts that he loved dearly, “Aunt Mena and Big Mama”, and his beloved “sisters”at the 1627 family home. Henry often spoke of all of his family, his aunts and uncle and his large number of cousins in Philadelphia and those who traveled from South Carolina for special occasions brought him a lot of joy.
During his time in Philadelphia, Henry was employed at LandBrothers stationary in Center City, Philadelphia. During that time, he met his lifelong friends and new roommates, Dwight and Norman. This trio formed an unbreakable bond of brotherhood.
Henry was always a socialite. He enjoyed life. He made friends easily and acquired life long friends everywhere he went. His outgoing personality and loquacious nature matched his stature. He was indeed a gentle well loved giant.
While in Philadelphia, Henry met Thomas J Sheahan, In Henry’s own written words, shared in his cookbook dedication,”TJ was his advisor, love, and trusted companion.”
The couple relocated to Red Bank, NJ. Henry embraced every part of his new community. He loved his life there with Tom, until Tom’s passing in 2004.
With a new home, Henry (NuNu) found a new career. He always found joy in caring for others, his first employment was as a counselor and basic skills instructor for adults with special needs.
Henry then became a teacher / supervisor for 15 years at Monmouth day care. This rewarding career continued as he transitioned to a paraprofessional in special education at Monmouth Regional High School retiring in 2019.
Henry’s love language was cooking and sharing his Southern roots through the recipes that he remembered from his childhood with his parents and years living with his aunts. He had a rich culinary background and he wanted to share his delectable delights and knowledge of low country southern cooking with a captivating audience.
He became a well known and often booked caterer in the Red Bank area. Many enjoyed his scrumptious recipes. He even had the opportunity to cater for the Count Basie Theater where he had the chance to meet and cook for Roberta Flack and B.B. King. He fondly recalled B.B. King devoured his Honey Mustard baked salmon.
Henry wanted to share these recipes with the world , He eventually worked on his published cookbook appropriately titled “Cooking with Henry: Southern Cooking with a Twist”.
Henry loved his work, he had a genuine love for people and cooking.
Henry also enjoyed traveling. Before Tom’s passing there were awesome trips shared to the Caribbean, South America, Mexico and Europe.
All of these things were special to him,however; his childhood experiences in his family fueled his desire to share this love with a family of his own. He and Tom became foster parents. Children were blessed by the love they had to share. His career and his catering made him happy, family brought him the most joy,
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In a published interview, Henry shared with the writer that Red Bank reminded him of his home in Sumter, the small area had a southern feel. He celebrated his love for family with his beloved community. Another article shared the story of Henry hosting the community’s Kaboom celebration of Life Party. The city’s annual Kaboom fireworks celebration on July 3 became significant to Henry and Tom because it marked the day that they received their adopted son Douglas who joined the family of three which included their adopted son Ronald.
This annual party that began as a time for family and friends to welcome their new addition to the family, continued as a way to celebrate life.
Henry was known to advocate for the perpetuity of the neighborhood. He would attend meetings and forums when necessary to ensure the safety of his neighbors remained a priority. After all, Henry had a new family to raise in this community.
Anything Henry (NuNu) did, he did with passion. He was a member of St. Anselm church and served on many committees one of which was the “ parish life committee” which he served as the chef, they proudly took care of all of the festivities for the church, celebrating events such as Mardi Gras, St.Patrick’s day just to name a few. He was very active in the community. He was the unofficial mayor of the west side of Red Bank. He was known to not only share physical food, he shared “food of knowledge” with many in the area.
He was not just a hearer of the word of God, He was a doer of the word as James 1:22-25 tells us all to be.
Henry Tindal Jr, (Nu Nu) had a full life. He was loved by many. He was met by many challenges, loss and setbacks through it all, he thrived. His accomplishments and life experiences were more than some people experience in a much longer lifetime. He did what he wanted all the way to the end, picking up and moving back to South Carolina. He always followed his heart. A big heart indeed. He loved deeply, unconditionally and his presence is already missed.
Have a news tip or story idea? redbankgreen editor Brian Donohue may be reached via email at [email protected] or by calling or texting 848-331-8331. Do you value the news coverage provided by redbankgreen? Please become a financial supporter if you haven’t already. Click here to set your own level of monthly or annual contribution.
