Obituary
Janice Christine Wendt, 76 of The Villages passed away February 9, 2022. Janice was born October 22, 1945, to Ernest and Alice Blom of Marinette, WI. She was a wife, mother, grandmother, great-grandmother, teacher and best friend to all. Janice was not one to conform to the norms, but rather did it her way.
As a girl, Janice was an avid swimmer and figure skater. She was a lifeguard at Red Arrow beach and performed in the city ice skating show.
On July 31, 1965, Jan married the love of her life, Ronald Wendt. Together, they welcomed 3 sons: Mark, Mike, and Matt, and raised them in Altoona, WI. Jan and Ron were married 57 years and took many adventures together: hiking the National Forest, touring Europe, cruising, camping, or enjoying a last minute get-away.
When Jan was 28 (with 3 active boys) she decided to go back to college and finish her teaching degree, telling Ron of her plans after she worked out all of the finances and daycare. This was not common for the times, but as typical for Jan, she did it her way.
Jan was the oldest in her graduating class and juggled being a wife, a mom of young children, and a full-time student. She graduated with a BS in education, and later a Masters degree, both from UW-Eau Claire.
She began teaching 4th grade at Little Red Elementary School in Eau Claire WI. When she moved to teaching 6th grade, she developed an incentive called Wendt Bucks, where students could bid on prizes each week. The students loved the program and would sometimes skip recess to improve their grades and earn more Wendt Bucks. Jan loved teaching!
After 25 years of teaching she and Ron moved to The Villages, in 2000. Jan kept very busy, getting her 10,000 steps in everyday, golfing, playing bridge, swimming, line dancing, drumming and garage sale hunting. She was a great cook and was always the life of the party.
Jan was especially proud of her 7 grandchildren and great-granddaughter. They would all agree that, after spending a week with Grandma Jan, you’d need a few days to recuperate. She liked to keep busy!
Jan’s infectious laugh, upbeat attitude, and zest for life will be terribly missed by her friends and family. Janice is survived by her husband Ron, her brother Ron Blom (June), her 3 sons: Mark (Bridget), Michael, and Matthew (Cindy), grandchildren: Paige (Joel), Jared, Gavin, Melia, Madison, Brooklyn, Sawyer, and great-granddaughter, Quinn.
An open house Celebration of Life will be held at The Card Room at The Canal Street Recreation Center on Saturday March 12, 2022 from 2:00 to 5 PM.
In lieu of flowers, the family requests memorials to be made out to the COPE Garden. The COPE Garden is a pocket of peace on the Oak Park Middle School campus, in Leesburg. As a middle school teacher herself, Jan loved the COPE concept. Arrangements entrusted with BALDWIN BROTHERS Funeral & Cremation Society-Spanish Springs, 352-480-5959. Sentiments may be left online at www.baldwincremation.com.
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