Wendell E. Wendt

Wendell E. Wendt, former assistant publisher of the Newton Daily News, died Friday, Feb. 3, 2017, at Park Centre in Newton. He was 102 years old. A memorial service will be at 11 a.m. Friday, Feb. 10 at the First Presbyterian Church in Newton, with the Rev. Meghan Davis officiating. The family will greet friends at a lunch at the church following the service. In lieu of flowers, memorials may be made to the First Presbyterian Church or the Rotary Club of Newton.

Wendell was born Dec. 20, 1914, in Avoca, the only child of Charles C. Wendt, a pioneer Avoca druggist, and his wife Rose Z. Brokman Wendt. He graduated from Avoca High School in 1932, and from Drake University with majors in accounting and marketing. He also studied at the University of Texas, Austin.

On May 15, 1943, Wendell and Loretta M. Miller were married at Camp Crowder in Neosho, Mo. They had been high school and college classmates. Wendell and Loretta celebrated their 100th birthdays with an open house at Park Centre Feb. 14, 2015. Loretta preceded him in death April 28, 2015.

Wendell was in military service during World War II and was overseas in England and France with the Army Signal Corps for 20 months.

He began work at the Newton Daily News in September 1947 as office manager. He continued his association with the paper for more than 32 years and served in various capacities. When he retired in 1980, he was assistant publisher of the paper and treasurer of the News Printing Company.

Wendell joined Newton’s First Presbyteian Church in 1948. He has been an elder, deacon, trustee, treasurer and taught Sunday school for about 20 years. After he retired, he became a half-time volunteer church administrator of the First Presbyterian Church for seven years. Part of that time, he and Loretta were editors of Insight, a Des Moines Presbytery newspaper.

Wendell was a member of the Newton Rotary Club for more than 50 years and a Paul Harris fellow with that organization.

From 1988 until 2010, Wendell authored the newspaper column We Are One, published in the Newton Daily News and the Marshalltown Times-Republican. Although Wendell wrote on many topics in We Are One, he believed the column’s primary mission was to promote peace. Loretta assisted him with comments, numerous spelling corrections and suggested changes in words and sentence structure.

Survivors include daughter, Marti Wendt of Lasqueti Island, British Columbia, Canada; daughter, Catherine Fox of Chicago; grandson, David Wackerlin and Sarah Kolbuc of Milton, Ontario; grandson, Hollis Linschoten and Katrina Barclay of Courtenay, British Columbia; and great-grandchildrenl Campbell and Eden Wackerlin.