Wendell Whitford

WHITFORD, GRAGG, MCCONNELL, GORDON, GRIFFITH, WICKSTROM, SHAFFER

Posted By: Connie Ellis (email)
Date: 11/28/2010 at 11:34:56

Source: West Union, Iowa "Union" newspaper, November 23, 2010
Contributor: Connie Ellis (Not related)

Wendell Whitford, 67, of North Liberty, Iowa died Wednesday, November 17, 2010 at Mercy Hospital in Iowa City, Iowa. Memorial services were held Sunday, November 21, 2010, at First Presbyterian Church in Iowa City with the Rev. Samuel Massey officiating. Arrangements were handled by Gay & Ciha Funeral Home and Cremation Service of Iowa City.

Floyd Wendell Whitford, Jr. was born January 10, 1943, in Ft. Bragg, North Carolina to Floyd Wendell Whitford, Sr. and Jewel (Gragg) Whitford. The family moved to West Union, Iowa, where Wendell was raised and completed high school. He went on to graduate with a teaching degree from Iowa State University in Ames, Iowa. On December 28, 1968, Wendell was united in marriage with Judy McConnell in Osceola, Iowa. The couple raised their family in Cedar Rapids, Iowa where Wendell was an industrial arts instructor at Franklin Junior High School for many years. He subsequently accepted a similar position at Moorhead High School in Minnesota. While living in Minnesota, Wendell and Judy owned Isleview Resort on South Lida Lake. After teaching for 36 years, Wendell retired in 2002. At that time, he and Judy returned to eastern Iowa. Wendell was an active member of First Presbyterian Church and the Iowa City Chamber Singers.

Preceding him in death were his parents, Floyd and Jewel Whitford, and his stepmother, Clara Whitford. Survivors include his wife, Judy; son Brien and his wife, Jennifer and their children, Savannah, Brookelyn, Kennedey, and Charleigh; daughter Cara Whitford and her husband, Mason Gordon and their children Olivia and Eliza; Wendell's siblings, Jo Griffith, Clark (Ebby) Whitford, and Mary (Russell) Wickstrom; his step-sister, Wanda (Don) Whitford; and his step-brothers, Stan (Sharon) Shaffer, Dennis (Anita) Shaffer, and Jon (Vera) Shaffer.

In lieu of flowers, memorial donations can be made in Wendell's memory to First Presbyterian Church in Iowa City. Iowa City Chamber Singers, or the Friends of the Boundary Waters.