James A. Wendel, 20 Apr 1938 - 26 Oct 2015

WENDEL, MELHUS, RITCHIE, WITTE, GRIFFITHS, MARTIN, STRUNK, PUMPHREY, SANDERS, SPENCER, SMITH, HAPPEL, WADDILOVE

Posted By: Sandy Ficken (email)
Date: 11/5/2015 at 15:18:57

James A. Wendel, age 77 of Amana, died Monday, October 26, 2015 at St. Mary’s Hospital, Rochester, MN. Funeral Services: 10:30 A.M. Saturday, October 31, 2015, Trinity Lutheran Church, Walford, with Rev. Travis Borkosky officiating. Burial will be at 1 P.M. Saturday, Raetz Cemetery, rural Atkins. Visitation: 4 to 7 P.M. Friday, October 30, 2015, Kloster Funeral Home, Marengo. A general memorial fund has been established.

He is survived by his wife Marvelyn; sons, Rick Wendel, Lonny (Sherry) Witte of Lisbon, Kevin (Deb) Witte of Cedar Rapids, and Scott (Molly) Witte of South Amana; daughters Jill Griffiths (Bob) of Elk River, MN, and Denise Martin of Urbana; twelve grandchildren, Nicholas, Jacob, and Zachary Griffiths, Josh Martin, Matthew and Zachary Witte, Landon Witte, Thomas (Julia) Strunk, Matt (Laura) Strunk, Brad (Carrie) Pumphrey, Keith (Sara) Pumphrey, and Shawn (Patrick) Sanders; ten great-grandchildren, Jaden Spencer, Amelia, Elizabeth, Isabelle, and Alexander Strunk, Christian and Natalie Pumphrey, Nathan Sanders, Hayden and Alayna Pumphrey. Also surviving are his brothers, Tom (Betty Jo) Wendel of Cedar Rapids, Doug (Sally) Wendel and Ed (Margaret) Wendel all of Newhall; and sisters Glennys (Ronnie) Smith and Betty (Vernon) Happel all of Cedar Rapids; and a brother-in-law, Carroll (Bonnie) Ritchie of Marion. Jim was preceded in death by his parents, and a granddaughter Jamie Lynn Waddilove.

James Allan Wendel was born April 20, 1938 in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, the son of Loren and Glenda Melhus Wendel. He graduated from Newhall High School in 1956 and served in the U.S. Army Reserves for 6 years. Jim was employed as a truck driver, most recently for the City of Cedar Rapids. He was united in marriage to Marvelyn Ritchie on September 24, 1983. The couple made their home in Amana. Jim enjoyed gardening and caring for his lawn. He liked to take road trips and was always on the lookout for “old Fords”. He loved his family, and especially enjoyed the time spent with his grandchildren and great-grandchildren.

Kloster Funeral Home
Journal Tribune, 04 Nov 2015, pg 5
Gazette, 29 Oct 2015, 8a [abbreviated]