Wendl, Janice Regina 1937-2008

WENDL, GEHLING

Posted By: Mary Holub, volunteer (email)
Date: 9/23/2008 at 19:34:42

From: Le Mars Daily Sentinel, September 23, 2008

Following a lengthy hospital stay, Janice Regina Wendl passed away at Lakeside Hospital in west Omaha, Neb., on Friday, Sept. 19, 2008.

The oldest child of the late Leo Wendl and the late Frances (Gehling) Wendl of Le Mars, she was born in Carroll on April 9, 1937. She leaves behind two sisters, two brothers, a stepmother, stepsister and two stepbrothers. In that order, they are: Mary Lou Mordino of Scottsdale, Ariz.; Joan Thomas of St. Louis, Mo.; Mark Wendl of Edgar, Neb.; Mike Wendl of Manhattan, N.Y.; Alvina (Schreck) Wendl of Le Mars; Deanna Herrmann of Omaha, Neb.; Marvin Schreck of Omaha, Neb.; and Wayne Schreck of Des Moines. She is also survived by three nieces, seven nephews and numerous aunts, uncles and cousins.

Graduating from Our Lady of Good Council High School in Fonda, in 1955, Janice then earned her degree in journalism from Omaha's Creighton University in 1959. She then worked as a reporter for several small town newspapers until an auto crash rendered her paraplegic in 1963. Adapting to her disability, she obtained a masters in education at the University of Missouri in Columbia in 1967. That degree allowed her a position with the Iowa State School in Glenwood. After that, she worked for the State of Nebraska Welfare Department for at least a decade. Following her retirement, temporary jobs kept her active, and for some time she worked at the Federal Court House in Omaha.

Throughout her life, Janice's strong Catholic faith, her tenacity, and her insatiable quest for knowledge sustained her in even the most difficult times. During her last years, she self-published a book titled "We Grew Up During World War II," her greatest personal achievement.

Janice willed her remains to Creighton University's Medical Center. Her family will hold a memorial service in the near future, but details have yet to be determined.