Scott Wendel, a fifty-year resident of the Omaha area, passed away at home on May 15 and donated tissue to the UNMC H.O.P.E. research-based tissue donation program to help future cancer patients. 

He grew up on the family century farm in Bronson, Iowa, and graduated from Heelan High School. He served on a wooden minesweeper in the US Navy during the Vietnam War. He earned a degree in education from the University of Iowa and a master’s degree from the University of Nebraska at Omaha and became a classroom teacher for Millard Public Schools. His corporate career in sales management and sales training culminated in a long tenure at the Nebraska Furniture Mart. 

Scott’s wife of more than fifty years, Sandra, and his two children and two grandchildren, sister, brother, and extended family will celebrate his life privately. 

Scott and Sandra donated 110 acres of Iowa prairie in the Loess Hills, part of the family farm, to the Iowa Natural Heritage Foundation as a legacy to saving Iowa prairie. The expansive front range near Bronson and Sergeant Bluff is called the Wendel Prairie Preserve.

No memorials are asked but if someone wanted to donate, Scott suggested the Omaha Humanist Association or the Iowa Natural Heritage Foundation in Des Moines.

This information was provided by our classmate Mike Urbanos on 5/16/2025.