Wendell Anderson

Wendell Anderson 96, of Spencer, passed away on Dec. 9, 2024, at St. Luke's Nursing Home in Spencer. Visitation will be Tuesday, Dec. 17, at First Christian Church in Spencer from 5-7 p.m. The funeral service will be held Wednesday, Dec. 18, at 11 a.m., followed by graveside services and lunch with family and friends afterward.

Wendell was born on Nov. 8, 1928, on the Anderson family farm, north of Gillett Grove to Celia Mae (Davis) and Elmer Herman Anderson. It was on the family farm where he and his two brothers and three sisters played many innings of baseball after chores were done. He attended country school and graduated as a Gillett Grove Hilltopper where he excelled in basketball, baseball and academically. After graduation he was scouted for semipro baseball which he declined.

Wendell joins a great cloud of witnesses in heaven including his parents, Celia and Elmer Anderson; his mother-in-law and father-in-law, Frances and Marshall Elkin; his older brother, Ronald, who served as a missionary in Africa; his younger brother, Deane, who he farmed together with for many years and Deane's wife, Margaret (Elkin, who is a sister to Vivian), brothers-in-law, Russell Werts, husband of his sister, Wilma and Lowell Sjogren, husband of his sister, Lola. Also, Wayne Salton, husband of Doris (Elkin) Salton.

Eagerly anticipating seeing him again are his wife, Vivian; his daughter, Linda of Spirit Lake; his daughter, Laurie Ann Anderson and husband, Jim Riphagen, of Orange City; his son, Barry and wife, Dana, of Greenville; his daughter, Sonya and Brian Nash of Spencer; his daughter Guadalupe Larrea Flores of Quito Ecuador; as well as his grandchildren and great-grandchildren: Joshua, Makayla and Charlie Ann Davidson of Orange City; Megan, Collin, Hadley and Griffin Kjose of Sioux Falls, South Dakota; Taylor, Luke and Vivian Majerus of New Prague, Minnesota; Caleb Davidson of Fort Collins, Colorado; Christopher, Nicole and Halley Anderson of Spencer; Abigail Nash of Spencer; and Juan Sebastian Ponce Larrea of Chicago, Illinois.

Wendell is also survived by his sisters, Wilma Werts of Pueblo, Colorado; Doris and Don Nissen of Spencer; Lola Sjogren of Sibley; sister-in-law, Clela (McCall) Anderson of St. Louis, Missouri; and by Vivian's siblings Doris Salton of Dickens; and Marshall and Lillian Elkin of Carlise, Illinois; and many friends and relatives.

For the full obituary, please go to www.warnerfuneralhome.com.