Andrew Wendler

Andrew Edwin Wendler was born to Emil and Hedwig (Mueller) Wendler on January 23, 1929 at home in Burnstown Township during a snowstorm. When he was 7 years old the family moved to a farm 1 mile south of Springfield on the airport road. Andy attended District 55 country school until the age of 12, then attended Springfield Public School . He had to quit school in 1944 to help out at home as his older brothers were called into the service. At the age of 11, Andy started helping at Runck's Hardware putting farm machinery together. In 1946 he started working at Pete Cullen's garage learning mechanics. Andy was called to serve his country in 1951 where he served in Germany until his discharge in 1953. After returning home he worked at Wiese Chevrolet in Comfrey until 1974. As a single young man he ate his meals at Schmidt's Cafe where he met the waitress there. Andy and Lora Wall were united in marriage on September 9, 1954 and were blessed with 3 children. In 1974, Andy and Lora were called to serve as missionaries in Kenya, East Africa and joined World Mission Prayer League. They left for Kenya in June of 1976 and returned to the States in February of 1992. They continued to work in the World Mission Prayer League office until April of 2000 when they retired and moved to Comfrey. While in Kenya, Andy taught mechanics at a church-run vocational school and was able to help keep local pastors and missionaries on the road. On Saturdays he did home Bible studies and on Sundays he often preached in bush churches. At the office in Minneapolis, Andy was property manager for WMPL Properties. He was active at Faith and New Hope Lutheran Church. He became a resident of St. John Lutheran Home in Springfield on January 17, 2014. He is survived by wife Lora of Comfrey; son Mark of Minneapolis; daughter Mona Sjoblom and husband Joe Standing of Plymouth; grandchildren- Vikki Wendler of Marshall, Isaac Sjoblom of Eden Prairie, and Jacob Sjoblom of Thief River Falls; sisters-in-law- Beverly Wendler of Baudette, Geraldine Wendler of New Ulm, Dorothy (Richard) Schwartz of Sanborn, Evonne (Lynn) Klages of Owatonna, Barb (Curtis) Johnson of Dalles Center, IA, Diane (Francis) Bussert of Faribault, Nancy (James) Sartor of Faribault, and Cynthia (Steve) Blackstad of Faribault; brothers-in-law- Gerald Wall of New Ulm, and Daniel Wall of Comfrey; and many nieces and nephews. He was preceded in death by his parents Emil and Hedwig; parents-in-law Walter and Bertha Wall; daughter Marcia; brothers- Emil and Walter; a sister at birth; and sister-in-law Lucille Johnson. First Visitation 2:00 pm - 5:00 pm Sunday, November 9, 2014 New Hope Lutheran Church, Comfrey 204 Court St. S. Comfrey, Minnesota, United States 56019 Second Visitation 10:00 am - 11:00 am Monday, November 10, 2014 New Hope Lutheran Church, Comfrey 204 Court St. S. Comfrey, Minnesota, United States 56019 Service Information 11:00 am Monday, November 10, 2014 New Hope Lutheran Church, Comfrey 204 Court St. S. Comfrey, Minnesota, United States 56019 Interment Information New Hope Faith Lutheran Cemetery 29053 County Road 1 Comfrey, Minnesota, United States 56019