LYON COUNTY GENEALOGY
THE FAMILY OF FREDERICK C. WENZEL
Frederick C. Wenzel, also known as Fritz, was born near Lester on October 25, 1891. His early years were spent in the Lester and Alvord Communities. He served in the U.S. Army in 1918. On August 1, 1922, he and Edna Stoltenberg were married. In 1935, they moved to Lester and made their home there until their deaths. Fritz died April 10, 1968 and Edna died October 27, 1980. Both are buried in the Lester Cemetery.
When they moved to Lester, Fritz was employed by Ferd Peters. They worked mostly for the local farmers repairing windmills and pumps. During the 1950's, Fritz was employed as janitor of the Lester School. He was the town marshal for a time and also served on the local school board. All seven of his children graduated from the Lester Public School and West Lyon High School. Edna and both daughters were school teachers.
Children of Fritz and Edna: Donald, was born September 2, 1923 and married Carolyn Searles. He is retired and lives in Hinton, Iowa. They had three sons. Dolores, was born August 2, 1926 and married Alvin Nickel. She was a teacher at Round Lake, Minnesota. They had two sons. Wallace, was born August 29, 1928 and married Joyce Burfeindt. He served for 25 years on the Sioux Falls, South Dakota Fire Department. He is retired.
They had two sons. Robert, was born on April 18, 1933 and married Betty Jo Bell. He is retired and lives in Wichita, Kansas. He has three children. The second marriage was to Elda Phipps.
Charles, was born August 6, 1935 and married Janet McDaniel. He served 25 years on Albuquerque, New Mexico Fire Department. He has three children.
Janet, was born August 24, 1937 and married Ronald Ray Hinkel. Janet is a secretary in Sioux City, Iowa and has three children.
Douglas, was born August 1, 1944 and married Joan Huls. Douglas is a mechanic and owns and operates Wenzel Repair in Lester. He is presently serving on the city council. Joan is a teacher at West Lyon School. They have two children: Tom and Janelle.