Wendell, Loretta Wendt to celebrate 100th birthdays

Wendell Wendt has long been a man of numbers. Spending most of his career in an accounting role, he’s sharp, quick and a source of information to anyone who knows him.

Wendt can tell you the year he and his wife began college, when he joined the Army, the date they were married, his first day at the newspaper, the birth of his daughters and when he retired — a terrific memory for a man who is 100 years old.

Wendell and his wife Loretta will together celebrate a milestone in their lives. Loretta will turn 100 years old in March, just three months after her beloved husband did in December. The two, along with their family and friends, will host a celebration from 2 to 5 p.m. Saturday at Park Centre in the Garden Room. All are invited to attend.

Both Wendell and Loretta are only children who grew up in Avoca, a town 45 minutes east of Council Bluffs. Wendell was born to the owners of C.C. Wendt Drug and Jewelry on Dec. 20, 1914 and Loretta was born to farmers on March 29, 1915.

Wendell and Loretta met freshman year in high school and were good friends. They didn’t start dating until the summer of 1942, more than 10 years later.

The two graduated from Avoca High School and attended Drake University in 1932, both majoring in journalism. Loretta graduated from Drake in 1936; but in his senior year, Wendell became ill with a severe case of Bright’s disease, which forced him to put his studies on hold.

“They told me that I’d be better off living in a warmer climate where I was less likely to retrieve respiratory diseases,” he said.

Wendell moved to Austin, Texas and graduated from the University of Texas with a degree in marketing. After school, he got a job at Sears Roebuck in Dallas. While Wendell was working in the city of Dallas, Loretta was off doing social work in Council Bluffs and the two had yet to know their paths would cross again.

After three years in Dallas, another illness struck Wendell, which led him to pack up and move home to rest and recover.

“Loretta called me and said she was sorry to hear I was recuperating. I said, ‘Well, come down and see me,’ and she said, ‘No, you come up and see me.’ I said, ‘OK, tomorrow night I’ll come up, Saturday night, and see you,” Wendell said. “By the summer, we knew we were in love and I proposed.”

The two were engaged but in January of 1943 Wendell’s draft status changed and he was off to the Army. The war wouldn’t separate the two. On May 15, 1943, Wendell and Loretta wed after basic training at Camp Crowder in Neosho, Mo.

Wendell was sent to England and France until the war in Europe was over. He and Loretta moved to Sacramento, Calif. where he was stationed while the war in the Pacific was still taking place.

“I was very fortunate in the Army. I never saw a German solider until after he was a prisoner of war,” Wendell said.

Wendell was discharged in the fall of 1945, when he and Loretta returned to Iowa. On April 9, 1946, the two had their first daughter, Martha “Marti” Rosemary Wendt.

While living in Des Moines, Wendell put an ad in the Des Moines Register looking for work which resulted in four job opportunities, one of which was at the Newton Daily News.

Former newspaper publisher L.O. Brewer interviewed Wendell and the two hit it off. In September 1947, Wendell began as office manager at the Newton Daily News. The family moved to Newton April 1, 1948 and their second daughter Catherine Louise was born in October.

Wendell and Loretta settled in Newton where they raised their girls and established a life in southwest Newton. Loretta was fond of gardening, while Wendell stayed active in service organizations like Rotary. The two were also involved in their church community at First Presbyterian Church.

Wendell was promoted to assistant publisher under E.K. Shaw in 1960 where he fulfilled a large role at the paper.

As assistant publisher, and often times publisher, Wendell did a variety of jobs and was admired by his colleagues.

“He’s an outstanding individual, very active, fair and dedicated newspaper employee,” said former Newton Daily News commercial printing manager John DeGrado. “He had a way about him. You respected him and wanted to do right by him.”

Wendell helped edit the newspaper before print and hire employees, but his primary role was to oversee business finances and accounting.

“I didn’t play golf, I didn’t get out much. I liked my job and I liked figures. I liked the people, many of whom I hired,” he said. “I enjoyed being publisher of the paper, getting the paper out. The paper is always changing, each day is always a new day.”

In 1980, at age 65, years after Marti and Catherine graduated from Newton High School, Wendell retired from the Newton Daily News.

“The first day I was retired the president of the Maytag Company came out to our house and came to offer me a job, which I didn’t take,” Wendell said.

Throughout retirement, Wendell and Loretta enjoyed their time together, in relaxation and recreation. They enjoyed spending more time at the house, in the yard gardening and especially traveling, usually one winter and one summer vacation a year. They also enjoyed being grandparents to their grandsons David and Hollis.

Wendell and Loretta also joined peace organization Beyond War and the Jasper County Peace Committee which inspired him to approach former editor Paul Lane about writing a few columns for the paper on world peace, as well as domestic and international issues. This venture lead to more than 1,000 “We Are One” guest columns over the course of 13 years.

More than a 100 years has gone by now since Wendell was born, and nearly 100 for Loretta, who until recently was in good health. Wendell recalled the highlight of both he and his wife’s life was having two daughters, raising them and following their lives over the years.

“Loretta has a more agreeable personality than I do, and we never had any big quils,” Wendell said. “She’s been a really wonderful wife. We’ve had a wonderful life.”

Wendell and Loretta have made a great impact on not only their family, but the community as well.

“He’s taught me 1,000 things, I couldn’t narrow it down to one, but just knowing he was there, you could always go to Wendell for the answer,” DeGrado said.

Contact Kate Malott at 641-792-3121 ext. 6533 or kmalott@newtondailynews.com