Duane "Du" Wender

Duane "Du" Alphonse Wender, 49, of Upper Pine Creek Road, passed away, Saturday, Oct. 31, 2009, peacefully at his home with his wife and his mother at his side after a long, courageous battle with cancer. Duane was a lifelong resident of the Pine Creek area and lifelong dairy farmer. Duane was born June 27, 1960, the son of Henry Wender and Lois Langsford. He graduated from Kingsford High School in 1978. He married his best friend and love of his life, Cindy Wells, on May 2, 1987, at his brother Don's house in the Upper Pine Creek area. He always said that "Cindy was the best thing that ever happened to me." They shared a love and respect for each other that was apparent by everyone who shared time with them. He would always leave her notes, and she is still discovering ones that he had left for her. Duane raised sons, Shawn and Ryan, since they were small children. He was a great father and mentor to them. He loved them with all of his heart and soul. They have many fond memories of the time they spent with Duane, especially the times they got caught sneaking back into the house when Duane was leaving for milking early in the morning. Duane also loved farming since he was a small child, and he worked side-by-side with his father, Henry, at the family's Edelweiss Dairy Farm since he was "knee high." He was instrumental in the dairy farm's success. He helped develop their Holstein herd and was very proud of the fact that their dairy cows were all homebred. Duane carried on the family tradition which started in 1928 of showing their dairy cows at both the Escanaba State Fair and the Norway Fair. With his outgoing personality and friendly demeanor, he made many friends at the fair. He was largely responsible for making Edelweiss Dairy farm well-known throughout the U.P. and Northeast Wisconsin for show-winning Holsteins. He was a very knowledgeable and ambitious farmer. He had the ability and determination to fix or repair anything he set his mind to. Duane lived and breathed farming and loved every minute of it, except maybe bailing hay in 100-plus degree weather! His love for the farm and farming was evident by the fact that he worked the farm every day of his life, milking cows every morning and evening and completing all of the chores involved with farming during the remainder of the day. He worked tirelessly, without complaint, and never took one vacation. It was a wonderful gift that he had such a passion for his profession. Duane loved to share his vast knowledge of dairy farming and animal care with young farmers and mentor them along the way. Duane had a special bond and shared his love of the family farm with his granddaughter, "Mac." He loved and nurtured her since she was a small child, and they spent many hours in the barn taking care of the cows and milking. Duane hoped that she would carry on the family tradition and be the next generation of the dairy farm. He also shared his love and knowledge of farming with her and taught her showmanship. She was also his partner in crime, and they spent many hours together going out for lunch with Henry and various other friends. His two favorite places for lunch were the The Thirsty Whale and the Pasty Oven. He was also mentoring his granddaughter Savannah, "Savannah Banana," in dairy farming. She also loved sharing time with him at the farm. Duane also enjoyed going to the Norway Speedway with his cousin Jean (who always had a Mountain Dew ready for him) to watch his nephew Ryan Wender drive car NUmber 00 for M & D Mobil and nephew, Tony Wells drive the Total Car Care race car. He loved all kinds of music from rock and roll to country. Duane loved watching episodes of Gunsmoke and thought of himself as a modern day cowboy. Lois and Duane spent many hours together constructing handmade saunas. They worked together as a team and enjoyed the time they spent together. Duane also built his family home, a handcrafted log cabin house from scratch. He cut down each tree, skidded them from the woods, skinned them a with love. If building a house wasn't enough of a project, Lois and Duane also built a beautiful camp together. Duane will always be "Grampy" to all of his granddaughters. He loved all of them and enjoyed sharing a bowl of ice cream with them. He was quick to smile, a good listener and always looking for the right opportunity to play a practical joke on you. Duane was kind, compassionate, caring and enjoyed and talked with each and every person he met. Duane had a great love for his 100 Holstein "Girls" and his family pets. He loved his dog Hannah who is curled up at his feet in heaven and his horse Dancer that made a trail for Duane to follow him earlier this month to heaven. He leaves behind two dogs, Abby and Gracie, and two horses, Adrianna and Morgan, one house cat, Ella, and a barn cat, Stormy. Duane and his hunting buddy, Dale Allen, spent many hours at his camp enjoying each other's company. Duane was a mentor and good friend to Ty-Ty Bal who is also a dairy farmer. Gerry Weinert and Duane spent many hours laughing at each other's jokes and Gerry often had Duane crying tears of laughter. David Oman was generous with his friendship and always eager to assist to Duane. He also maintained a close relationship with his high school friends Todd Cerasoli and Keith Johnson. Duane also had many other friends, too numerous to mention. Two of Duane's mentors were Uncle Fran, who was a builder and Uncle Si who was a maintenance engineer. Duane's cousins, Tommy and Jimmy Wender, were also special friends. Not many people are allowed to call them Tommy and Jimmy, and they in turn called continued... 1 2 Next ...continued him Duaney. Duane loved life and fought hard to not let his body overcome his spirit's desire to stay here and spend more time with his family and friends. He was very optimistic and hopeful that he would beat the cancer, and he shared his encouragement with other cancer patients. Duane's mother Lois shared the past two months at home with Cindy and Duane and was an extraordinary caretaker. Duane shared a special bond and friendship with Dr. John Loewen. Dr. Loewen took exceptional care of Duane and was instrumental in helping him fight this battle along with Dr. Mercier from the Marshfield Clinic. Dr. Loewen shared a helicopter ride with Duane earlier this month. Gina, Lisa, Beth and Brenda at Dr. Loewen's office were very kind, compassionate and caring during his visits. Their kindness will never be forgotten. He is survived by his loving wife, Cindy; sons, Shawn (Kim Fox) and Ryan (Krissa Stenfors) Ellis; his mother, Lois Langsford; father, Henry (Sheila) Wender; brothers, Don (Susie) Wender and Brad (Lisa) Welko; grandchildren, Ciara, Brianna, Savannah, Nicole and Macala "Mac" Ellis and Tyler Schuls; brother-in-law, Bob (Mary) Wells and sister-in-law, Jody (Glenn) Edlund; nephews and nieces, Ryan (Nikki) Wender, Amber Cotterman, Ben and Katie Welko, Tony (Missy) and Jason Wells; and great- nephews, Anthony Duane Wender and Nathan Cotterman. He is also survived and will be greatly missed by all of his family, friends and fellow dairy farmers. Many dear family members and friends including his father-in-law, Bob Wells Sr. and his mother-in-law, Sadie, preceded him in death. Bob and Sadie loved and respected Duane. Bob and Sadie always said that they couldn't have picked a better son-in-law themselves. Pallbearers will be Don Wender, Shawn and Ryan Ellis, Ryan (Little Ryan) Wender, David Oman, Ty-Ty Bal, Dale Allen, Brad Welko and Gerry Weinert. In lieu of flowers, a memorial will be established in his memory. Duane's love for his family, friends, the farm, hunting and music will always be remembered and carried in our hearts as a special memory of time spent with him. Duane would want the tears we cry today to make room in our hearts to remember fondly the joy that he brought to each of us individually in his own special way. Duane was a wonderful and attentive husband. I will miss his sense of humor, his laughter, his voice and his touch. He was my best friend and my soul mate, and I will always cherish the time we shared together. He also was the best thing that ever happened to me. I will love him forever and ever. Love always, CJ (Cin) Visitation will be held from 9:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. on Tuesday at the Erickson-Rochon & Nash Funeral Home in Iron Mountain. Funeral services will follow at 1 p.m. on Tuesday at St. Mary Catholic Church in Norway. Fr. James Roetzer will offer the Mass of Christian Burial. Condolences may be expressed to the family of Duane Wender online at www.ernashfuneralhomes.com The family has entrusted Duane's good friend, Tom Nash and the Erickson-Rochon & Nash Funeral Home of Iron Mountain with the funeral arrangements. Previous 1 2

Duane "Du" Wender

June 27, 1960 - October 31, 2009