Obituary of Dr. Ernest R. Venerus

Dr. Ernest R. Venerus of Saratoga, NY passed away peacefully on September 25, 2021 at the age of 80.  Ernie was born in Woodbridge, NJ in 1941 to the late Calisto and Julia Venerus.  He is survived by his wife of 45 years Deanna, brother Joseph (Mary Jo) Venerus, sister Rosemary (John) McCrae, and eight children: John (Michele) Britz, Julie (Kris) Gage, Nancy (James) Glavin, Wendy (Michael) Gifford, David (Colette) Venerus, Michael (Stephanie) Venerus, Suzanne (Mark) Morand, and Richard (Barbara) Venerus. Ernie was a proud grandfather of 16 and great-grandfather of 12.  He is also survived by many nieces, nephews and cousins. For 13 years he was married to Diane (Gorsak) until her passing – together they had four children.

     Ernie graduated from the University of Notre Dame and then went on to earn a PhD in nuclear engineering from North Carolina State University.   Dr. Venerus worked at Knolls Atomic Power Laboratory (KAPL) for more than 40 years where he led research on nuclear propulsion systems for the US Navy.  After he retired, Ernie also established a research group known as BEES that studied the use of electric stimulation to treat different diseases, including Parkinson’s Disease, which he lived with for over 20 years. He loved Notre Dame football, playing golf and tennis, trips to Cancun where his fruit plate was legendary, and handicapping horses at Saratoga. Most of all, he loved being with his family. From boating on Lake George to trading Matchbox cars with the grandkids from his battered briefcase and giving rides on the Grandpa Express wagon, Ernie was the embodiment of his slogan “ never stop moving".

     Funeral will be held Saturday at 9:30am at Corpus Christi Church, in Ushers where the Mass of Christian Burial will be celebrated.

     Calling hours will be from 5-7 pm Friday in the Gordon C. Emerick Funeral Home, 1550 Rt. 9 Clifton Park, NY 12065.  Interment will be in Jonesville Cemetery, Clifton Park, NY.  Donations can be made in honor of Ernie to the Michael J Fox Foundation for Parkinson’s Research.Donation Processing The Michael J. Fox Foundation P.O. Box 5014 Hagerstown, MD 21741-5014  or https://tribute.michaeljfox.org/tribute-page.php?id=1762&np=true