Les Katona obituary   

Leslie E. (Les) Katona Sr., 86, passed away on March 24th 2022.

Born in Trenton, he resided in Lawrenceville for forty years before moving to Hamilton Township.

He was predeceased by his parents, Joseph J. Katona Sr. and Ethel Baky Katona; his brother Joseph J. Katona Jr and his wife Patricia; and his brother Lawrence Katona.  He is survived by his wife Barbara Gaskill Katona; his daughter and son-in-law Gloria Katona and Carmen Scarpati; his son Les Jr. and his wife Holly, stepson David Cerne; grandchildren Morgan Menszak and her husband Tim, Dr. Mitchell Katona and his fiancé Dr. Emily Henkel, Matthew Katona, and Megan Katona and her significant other Kevin Blum; step-grandchildren Diana Cerne and Michael Cerne; sister-in-law Judy Katona, and many nieces and nephews Cynthia Parsons, Joseph J. Katona III (Maryann), Lawrence Katona, Tracey Katona and Stacey Katona; cousins Carol (Nagy) Niedt and Alexander “Sandy” Nagy, and many dear friends.

Les was raised by first generation Hungarian-American parents on a farm in Lawrenceville and began hunting, fishing, and trapping at a young age.  He miraculously graduated from Princeton High despite the many antics that made him a regular visitor to the principal’s office, and suspensions when he arrived with the smell of his pet skunk’s “gift”. Les received an honorary discharge from the US Navy (Reserves) in 1960 and was a member of Princeton Masonic Lodge 38.  As a young man, Les studied at night to earn a Blue Seal Engineer license and worked his way up to Utilities Foreman at American Cyanamid.  While still there, he founded his own part-time business, Lawrence Engineering, to help finance his racing hobby.  After leaving American Cyanamid in 1981, Les took the plunge and moved his business to a full-time operation.  From an empty, concrete-floored, metal-shelled building with no utilities that he purchased in 1975, Les built Lawrence Engineering into one of the most well-known, highly respected, and successful auto racing fabrication and parts retailers in the Northeast.  Although supposedly retiring in his early 60s, he never could stay away and would often pop in to “checkup” on things or share coffee and conversation with the employees and the customers.

If you asked Les how he was doing, his quick reply was ”living the dream”, and indeed he was.  Les was bigger than life and even in his 80s never slowed down.  Although he retired from racing in 1993, his retirement from Lawrence Engineering simply provided him with more time to hunt and fish.

Les started racing in 1959 at Flemington Speedway and quickly earned the nickname “Wild Les” from the NASCAR officials.  Over the next three decades he brought his K3 to victory lane hundreds of times, took home multiple championships at East Windsor (1974, 1975, 1977 and 1979) and Flemington Speedway (1975 and 1977), earned the Flemington Reverse Race Championship by winning every event (1975),  was named “Most Popular Driver” multiple times; became the first New Jersey Triple Crown Champion in 1975, was inducted to the Garden State Vintage Stock Car Club in 2011 and received the 2020 TAS Award from the Flemington Historical Society in recognition of being one of the Speedway’s “most influential persons”.  Despite all those accolades, Les was most proud of the two races he ran at Pocono Speedway.  In 1983, Les completed in the ARCA division, qualifying 15th and working his way up to 7th place before the engine blew.   A year later he drove a Modified in the Race of Champions, qualifying 12th in his debut appearance.  In 1987, Les and his daughter Gloria were the cover feature in Stock Car Racing Magazine.

An outdoorsman from a young age, Les was an avid hunter and fisherman.  He owned over 150 fishing reels and almost as many poles, and usually had at least two boats because different types of fishing required different boats of course.  His pride and joy was his 1997 20’ Bayliner Trophy, named “Tiger Too”, and his beloved first mate was his wife Barbara.  Only a few weeks ago, he purchased another boat which he intended to renovate.  In addition to local outings in the Shark River Inlet, the Delaware River, Yardley, PA canals, and Hamilton Lake, literally in his backyard, Les fished both the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans and throughout the US, including Alaska and Hawaii, as well as locations in South America, Central America, Canada, Norway, and Europe.  He so enjoyed flyfishing for salmon on the Pulaski River in upstate NY that he purchased a house there.  He won many tournaments and holds many records, including the World Record for Northern Stargazer, and in 1987 received the Sports Afield Distinguished Fisherman Award for his 158 lb. Striped Marlin.  Les enjoyed sharing his catch of fluke, sea bass, blackfish, bluefish and tautog with friends and family. He also fished for shad, tuna, sailfish, marlin, sturgeon, halibut, cod, black drum, barracuda and more.  Les was an avid believer in catch-and-release when possible.

Similarly, Les’ hunting escapades took him around the world.  He hunted bear in Canada, moose in Newfoundland, and big game in Africa.  At 71 years of age, Les went on his dream hunt to South Africa and brought home 8 trophies, including a Cape buffalo.  Seven of them earned Safari Club International medals, including one gold for Southern Impala that ranked 58th in the international record book. Even the professional hunter (guide) was impressed with Les’ marksmanship, skills, and stamina.    Closer to home, he pursued mule deer in Idaho, white tail deer in Maine, antelope in Wyoming, elk in New Mexico (black powder muzzle loader), mountain lion in South Dakota, javelina and boar with his son Les Jr in Texas, and many other hunts, including small game, turkey, and waterfowl throughout the country.  Les looked forward to local deer season every year, both bow and shotgun, with his nephews and buddies, and helped fill the freezers of many friends and family with fresh venison.  In 1958, Les won a trap shooting championship.

A few little-known facts about Les: 

• The house he and Barb bought sits on the backstretch of the old Trenton Speedway.
• He directly saved three lives: his son Les Jr., who went underwater in full hunting gear while retrieving the first duck he shot; a 13-year old-boy drowning off a local pier where Les was fishing (he always regretted not being able to save the second boy), and a fellow fisherman in FL from a burning boat that exploded within minutes.
• He auditioned for the reality show Survivor.
• He survived a rattlesnake attack, alone deep in the woods of SC.
• In recent years he became a bee-keeper helper.

Whether it was business, racing, hunting, or fishing, Les was always ready to share his experience, knowledge, catch and even equipment with family and friends -- and anyone Les met at the races, or in the woods, or on the water was a friend.  He will be greatly missed by so many.

A celebration of life will be held on Thursday, March 31, 2022 from 4 p.m. to 8 p.m., concluding with service at 8 p.m. at the Brenna Funeral Home, Immordino Chapel, 1799 Klockner Road, Hamilton, NJ 08619.

In lieu of flowers, the family strongly suggests memorial contributions to Wounded Warriors in Action (wwiaf.org) or Tunnel to Towers (t2t.org).