Olga Wendel

Funeral services for Olga Wendel were held Saturday, January 29, 2005, at St. Paul Lutheran Church, Postville, Iowa. Rev. Allen Hermeier officiated and was assisted by Greg Hamm. Burial was in the Postville Cemetery. The Schutte Funeral and Cremation Service of Postville was in charge of arrangements.
Olga Signora (Storla) Wendel was born July 13, 1903, in Paint Creek Township, Allamakee County, near Waterville, Iowa, to Ole O. Storla and Julia (Paulson) Storla. She passed away Wednesday, January 26, 2005, in the Good Samaritan Center in Waukon.
She was baptized in the East Paint Creek Synod Lutheran Church at Waterville and confirmed there in the Norwegian language. She became a member of the Waterville Lutheran Church in 1944 and was presently a member of St. Paul Lutheran Church in Postville. Olga attended the rural Storla School north of Waterville.
On August 31, 1927, Olga was married to Earl Gustave Wendel at the home of her parents. To this union a son, Kenneth was born. They lived on a farm near Churchtown, Iowa. In 1934 Earl and Olga moved to a farm north of Waterville. In 1963 they moved to Postville where they helped their son on his farm.
Olga was a homemaker all of her life. She loved to raise flowers, including glads, and had a big garden. She was a seamstress and made clothes for family members. Olga enjoyed tatting, crocheting, embroidery work, and piecing and stitching quilts. She was an excellent cook, especially of Norwegian foods, which included lefse, meatballs, sandbakkels, Berlin Kranser, Rulepolse, and Falligman Bagelse, "scratch" cakes, doughnuts, and rolled sugar cookies. She also collected china cups and salt and pepper shakers.
Survivors include her son, Kenneth (Marcella) Wendel of Postville; three grandchildren, Susan (Bruce) Snively of West Union, Ronald Wendel of Ketchikan, Alaska, and Sandra (Dennis) Bahls of Elkader; six great-grandchildren, Ann McNeil (fiancé John Cannon) of Cedar Falls, Matthew Wendel of USN, Saratoga Springs, N.Y., twins, Jonathon and Courtney Wendel, both of Ketchikan, Melissa (Chris) Hines of Cedar Rapids, and Jordan Bahls of Ames.
Also surviving is a brother, Ove (Mildred) Storla of Dubuque, as well as nieces, nephews, and cousins, Philip Storla of Waukon, Joyce Kuhse of Postville, Marian (Jack) DeValk of Germantown, Wis., Elaine Fox of Milwaukee, Wis., Helen (Jerry) Behrens of Colgate, Wis., Chester (Marilyn) Johnson of Salt Lake City, Utah, Richard (Patsy) Storla of Lynnville, N.C., Janet (Steven) Blom of Janesville, Wis., DuWayne Storla of Cuba City, Wis., Carol Storla of La Crosse, Wis., Curtis (Dede) Storla of Harpers Ferry, Iowa, and Rudy (Marian) Hesla of Waterville.
She was preceded in death by her husband, Earl, who died August 15, 1974; her parents; three brothers, Olvin, Hartvig, and Clarence Storla; four sisters, twins Thora Johnson and Sophia Gulrud and Pauline Johnson, and Helen Storla; and a grandson-in-law, Edward McNeil.
Casketbearers were Philip Storla, Sigurd Ness, Richard Storla, DuWayne Storla, Curtis Storla, and Rudy Hesla.