Wilton Wendlandt

Published 12:00 am Saturday, July 17, 2010

Wilton Orville Wendlandt was born to Anna Emily Hillenbrand and William Ferdinand Wendlandt and had a sister, Jean Arlene Wendlandt. When his mother died in a train accident in October of 1926, Wilton was raised with Esther Kuehl Ruble’s children: Gerry Wangsness, William Kuehl and Harvey Kuehl in the Albert Lea area. He graduated in 1938 from Mason City High School in Iowa and joined the National Guard at the age of 17. Wilton graduated from Dunwoody with a Heating and Refrigeration degree and then enlisted in the Army on Feb. 10, 1941 at the age of 21. He went to Camp Claibourne, La., for training and then went on to serve his country in North Africa, Sicily and Italy. He served with the 34th “Red Bull” Division, 135th Infantry Company G from Albert Lea. He received an honorable medical discharge on March 7, 1944. Wilton received his graduate degree from the University of Minnesota in 1948 where he was active in the U of MN Farmhouse Fraternity. He married Leni Amy Johnstone in 1949 and had three children: Nancy, Marvin and Gary. He taught Veteran’s Adult Vocational Agriculture throughout the state of Minnesota until he retired in 1985 in Bagley. He was active in the Itasca Pioneer Farmer and belonged to the Disabled American Veterans, the VFW Post, Bemidji, the American Legion, Bagley and the Bemidji Wood Carvers. In 2006, he moved to Woodbury.