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1
SENATE RESOLUTION

 
2    WHEREAS, The members of the Illinois Senate are saddened to
3learn of the death of Donald Leo Wendle of Godfrey, who passed
4away on March 2, 2015; and
 
5    WHEREAS, Donald Wendle was born in Alton on January 2, 1934
6to Leo Louis and Helen Virginia (nee Groshan) Wendle; following
7graduation from St. Mary's Elementary School and Alton High
8School in 1951, he attended Shurtleff College; on October 24,
91959, he married Janis Kathryn Miller at St. Mary's Catholic
10Church in Alton; and
 
11    WHEREAS, Donald Wendle began his career with
12Owens-Illinois (O-I) Glass Co. in Alton; by way of the bus and
13hitch hiking, he completed night classes to earn dual associate
14degrees in drafting and engineering design from Washington
15University in 1956; in 1994, he retired from O-I as a
16manufacturing engineer at the Godfrey Machine Manufacturing
17facility; and
 
18    WHEREAS, Donald Wendle had a life-long passion for golf
19that began as a young caddy, and includes 3 hole-in-ones; he
20shot his age several times; he was inducted into the Alton Golf
21Hall of Fame in 2007; his love for fishing centered on local
22farm ponds north of Brighton, Canada and the Michigan Upper

 

 

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1Penisula; he and his wife enjoyed travelling to elder hostels
2and other attractions with friends and family throughout the
3United States and Canada; in 2002, he created detailed drawings
4of Robert Wadlow's giant chair for artist Jerry McKenna,
5sculptor of the bronze replica that accompanies the Wadlow
6statue in Alton; and
 
7    WHEREAS, Donald Wendle was a life-long member of St. Mary's
8Catholic Church and a member of the Knights of Columbus; and
 
9    WHEREAS, Donald Wendle was preceded in death by his parents
10and his siblings, Virginia (Gin) White, Eugene (Gene), Gerald
11(Jerry), and Paul; and
 
12    WHEREAS, Donald Wendle is survived by his wife, Janis; his
133 children, 9 grandchildren, and 4 great-grandchildren,
14Anthony (Tony) Wendle, with son, Lucas; Eric and Marci (nee
15Roberts) Wendle, with children, Paige, Jayne, Peter, Maria,
16Monica, and Thomas; Anne and Mike Schleeper, with son, Michael,
17his wife, Heather, and their children, Keyton and Kaden and
18son, Dustin, his wife, Elisabeth, and their children, Caleb and
19Nicholas; therefore, be it
 
20    RESOLVED, BY THE SENATE OF THE NINETY-NINTH GENERAL
21ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we mourn the passing of
22Donald Leo Wendle, and extend our sincere condolences to his

 

 

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1family, friends, and all who knew and loved him; and be it
2further
 
3    RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be
4presented to the family of Donald Wendle as an expression of
5our deepest sympathy.